the new rules on electric cars the reason we're calling it -- the reason we're calling it the biden green gamble in the "axios" sneak peek last night, is for biden, this isn't an obvious play, right, going into a re-election race so many people still say they can't afford electric cars one of the big hindrances, deterrences to take up is the fact that electric cars have been more affordable, have always been more expensive they're trying to make them more affordable all the big car companies are committed to making them bigger, including the pickup trucks, which you might have thought would have been the last to go what we're hearing, jonathan, is that this is more appealing to progressive voters, the scranton joe bit of his brain has to use another issue to appeal to middle america. >> mike allen, thank you so very

much we'll talk to you again a little later on "morning joe. thanks to all of you for getting up "way too early" with us on this monday morning. "morning joe" starts right now another community is grieving this morning following another deadly mass shooting this time, it was at a birthday party in small town alabama. we'll have the latest in the investigation and the reaction to more gun violence in america. a daily occurrence almost. it comes as the nra held its annual convention this weekend in indianapolis, with donald trump as one of its top speakers we'll show you the mixed reception the crowd gave to a possible challenger to trump in the 2024 republican presidential race also ahead, new reporting on the wealthy donors who are now backing away from ron desantis why they are ditching the florida governor before he even launches a presidential came p campaign

plus, the legal fight over abortion medication will go before the supreme court this week we'll break down the new developments in that case. good morning welcome to "morning joe. it is monday, april 17th with us, we have the host of "way too early," white house bureau chief at "politico," jonathan lemire. i think i just saw you on television. >> i was thanks for watching. >> good job. >> thank you. >> former aide to the george w.h. bush white house, elise jordan president of the national action network, reverend al sharpton. founder of the conservative website, the bulwark, charlie sykes. and co-founder of "axios," mike allen. the president wrapped up his trip in ireland, which is where joe is now before he left, he spoke to

thousands, talking about the relationship between the u.s. and ireland, and about his own personal ties to the area, saying ireland isn't just a part of his family history, but also a part of his soul as i said, joe is still in ireland this morning, in belfast now, having spent the weekend interviewing key architects of the good friday agreement, including, well, president biden, former president bill clinton, former secretary of state hillary clinton, former british prime minister tony blair, and thepresident i president jerry adams. what have you been hearing after this historic peace accord >> well, the trip lining up with the good friday agreement, it was something that, 25 years ago, the whole world was shocked. these sides that hated each other, that had spent over 30, 40 years killing each other, actually decided to lay down their arms and begin functioning

together as a group, as a government so this meeting in belfast is part celebration bill clinton, tony blair and the irish prime minister also said it's part reunion, 25 years later. they can't believe they're back, and it's already 25 years. it's also a bit of a working trip even with the peace agreement 25 years late e there's still problems in northern ireland political problems, sides fraying a bit. brexit caused considerable problems here. they're back together. everybody is talking about how to keep this peace process moving forward they'll be doing that at queens university, where hillary clinton is the first woman chancellor there

i talked to her. talked to bill clinton, tony blair. just got finished talking to him. the leader of ireland. we'll be airing some interviews throughout the day and on our special next week. yeah, it's been a remarkable, remarkable weekend. >> yes later on the show this morning, we'll be hearing from your interviews, a little bit of them, from president biden, also former president bill clinton and former secretary of state hillary clinton. also talking about the news of the day. let's get to that. another community is in mourning following a deadly mass shooting it's a daily occurrence, normality now. four people were killed and 28, 28 others were injured during a 16th birthday party in alabama it happened saturday night at a dance studio in downtown

dadeville. among those killed was a high school senior who planned to play college football and was celebrating his sister's birthday police remained tight lipped at this point about the shooting and are asking residents to come forward with information it is not known right now if the suspect is in custody or what led up to the attack president biden released a statement expressing his sympathies and frustrations, writing in part, quote, this is outrageous and unacceptable. americans agree and want lawmakers to act on common sense gun safety reforms instead, this past week, americans saw national republican elected leaders stand alongside the nra in a race to the bottom on dangerous laws that further erode gun safety. most members of the republican party have refused to take on the issue of guns, but republican congresswoman nancy

mace of south carolina is criticizing her own party's inaction here's what she had to say yesterday on "fox news sunday. >> republicans can no longer be silent on this issue it's not about the second amen amendment. there are plenty of things that we can be doing besides offering prayers and silence. some sort of amber alert, for example, to let the community know there has been a shooting, strengthening our background checks is something the vast majority of americans support. hardening our schools, churches and synagogues, so that there is deterrence, so that when a shooter, potential mass shooter enters a place, they know that maybe they're not going to make it through because there's bulletproof doors, bulletproof windows, you know, those kind of common sense things are all things that every american on either side of the aisle can get behind yet, every time there is a mass shooting, and they're increasing every year, every week, we just -- we don't say anything. we want to bury our heads in the sand and hope it goes away guess what

it's not going away. >> the congresswoman is seeing the big picture here, what most americans are feeling. yet, republicans stay focused on the base. >> they do it is a shrinking base in the republican party the overwhelming majority of nra members, the overwhelming majority of republicans, the overwhelming majority of americans, almost 90% of americans support universal background checks. almost 80% of americans, maybe over 80%, support national red flag laws. there's one gun safety measure after another, that if you put it up for a vote in any state, like colorado did, as bill clinton was saying earlier, colorado in 2000 had a referendum on, i believe it was universal background checks. the year that george bush easily won that state it passed overwhelmingly i dare say, charlie sykes, from

last thing that any extremist on gun issue wants would be for states like florida, states like wisconsin, to have a voter's ref remembe referendum on universal background checks. if there was, it'd pass in all 50 state, which shows you why republicans on abortion, on guns, on all these other issues that they've taken such extreme positions on -- and we're not just talking about the second amendment. you and i support the second amendment. we always have supported the second amendment we supported the decision in hiller -- heller we support americans owning guns and protecting their families. they've taken an extreme position and are out of step with the overwhelming majority of americans. >> this is exactly right we're not talking about the republican base here we're talking about a faction within the base, both on

abortion and on guns interesting. i remember in wisconsin when i used to have a radio show, the nra back then was pushing for concealed carry without permits, without any background checks. this was a crazy idea. i remember opening up the phones, and to your point, the overwhelming majority of gun owners, republicans, said, "yes, you know, this is crazy. we don't have to go along with these extreme steps. i think you're seeing that on the abortion issue, as well. the republican party is allowing itself to be held hostage by a faction within a faction the loudest, most extreme versions of all of these issues. i think they're trapped. what they've done is, over the years, they've given the veto power to the folks like the nra when it comes to guns. by the way, you know, the juxtaposition of this shooting and the pictures coming out of the nra convention, where you have small children handling

guns i mean, are we so numb that we do not think how absolutely outrageous this is the reuters photographer who has these small children holding guns in their hands, including one young boy who is actually pointing it directly at her. you know, you listen to the politicians at the nra there was not one republican who suggested any sort of moderation or compromise on this issue, none. >> it is absolutely frightening. i saw those pictures i couldn't -- i just couldn't believe my eyes. as we mentioned, joe spoke with former president bill clinton about this issue here is what he had to say >> you were president when columbine happened at the time, obviously, we were all horrified, but almost thought of that as a one-off it's now become a regular occurrence you and i grew up in a culture where everybody -- we went to church with everybody who was in our neighborhood they all went out hunting. you've talked about shotguns

growing up same here. >> yeah. i had -- >> it's gotten so extreme. what do we do? >> one thing is pretty clear, whatever we do, we need to do it more together. i think we need to start talking across this divide the -- i remember when jack brooks, who was a congressman from texas. >> right. >> enjoyed the support of the nra in every election he was ever in. and tom foley, the speaker of the house from washington. they both told me when the senate put in the assault weapons ban, which i wanted, if i signed it, we would lose the house. and we did they lost their seats. because of the ability of the nra to terrify people, but also because we were beginning to lose touch with each other across cultural divides that had

always exist but hadn't been barriers you couldn't breach it is not rational that we should have a dramatically higher death rate among school-aged children because of gun violence than any other country in the world you know, a lot of people get mad about this thoughts and prayers. but if you believe that you have to -- if you believe you were compelled to let kids die in order to keep your freedoms, that's sort of the way this debate is. >> reverend al, it's easy for a podcaster to talk about guns and ta ta take an extreme position, or other people publicly. they may have listeners that follow but what we've seen, not only in the gun debate, but also on the abortion debate, is what happens

when these issues suddenly become personal. when lifelong republicans start talking to me and crying the day of the school shooting, talking about the madness, the insanity, that they're afraid to drop their 5-year-old children off at school then, suddenly, this political scuffling becomes very personal. it's the same, we talked about, with abortion. republicans talking to me, these horror stories that we're hearing out of georgia, out of florida, out of virginia, all across the country not california, but out of these states that have the most restrictive abortion laws in america. it's becoming very personal to them, rev. i think that's what's causing this crisis of the republican party. it's why kansas was a political earthquake, why wisconsin was a political earthquake, and why they're so concerned about 2024.

>> at the end of the day, joe, it becomes personal because it is personal. when i saw the shooting over the weekend in alabama, my mother is from alabama she's buried there i have relatives there i'm the first generation born in the north of our family. this is personal many of them own guns, have guns but when a sweet 16 party turns into a mass killing, it's beyond the politics of where you are. one of the things that must happen, to sit and watch you and former president clinton, who were politically opposites, sit there and talk about how we have to come across the divide i think is significant within itself we have got to show we're above our particular personal politics, biases and culture, and show that we're for the whole. i think you and bill clinton during that interview showed that i hope that people understand

what personal issues in their families the only way we'll get by this is we do it together whether we come together embracing or whether we back into each other, we're going to have to come together. >> the former president eluding to how far apart democrats and republicans are. also, where americans stand on not just guns but abortion two keep issues. when we talk about abortion, we're talking about women's health we're talking about women who are miscarrying and need help. women who may die and need help. women who may need a medication that causes a termination or, yes, yes, republicans, you can use the word abortion. it's not a bad word. it is a word that pertains to women's health yet, they are so afraid to talk about it so far apart when it comes to this issue republican senator and potential 2024 hopeful tim scott of south

carolina said friday that, as president, he would support and sign the, quote, most conservative pro-life legislation that could pass. here's what he told nbc's ali vitali on friday >> every time a state pours a dobbs decision, states have the ability to have the most conservative bills that they can get passed in their legislature. i support the culture of life, without question. >> is six weeks the right mile marker >> well, the people have decided that their elected leaders have the opportunity to do so, so i say absolutely as the culture of life is being protected, we should celebrate that states will have different, varying views on that, but, yes, if i were president of the united states, i would literally sign the most conservative, pro-life legislation that they can get through congress. >> even if it was six weeks? >> i'm not going to talk about six or five or seven or ten. >> my god, i mean, florida already has six weeks. jonathan lemire, this is threatening the lives of women,

torturing women. women in florida are being forced to carry to full term babies that will not live. >> the governor signed that in the dead of night last week. tim scott, expected to run for president, signalled he'd do the same on a national level elise, we've talked a lot about how 2022 was, abortion front and center because of the supreme court decision a lot of americans deciding that, what the republicans were saying was out of step this isn't what they wanted. senator graham talked about a national abortion ban. democrats saw how unpopular that was with even some republican voters it seems like 2024, abortion is going to be a defining issue again. >> well, it's even poised now. look at what's going to happen with the supreme court the abortion bill, that's huge. >> yeah. >> that is going to be seismic because most americans, when it comes to women's health, they are way more supportive of a pill that terminates pregnancy

before ten weeks than other measures you know, you talk about extremism -- >> but the pill is used for a lot of things pertaining to women's health. >> yes. >> menopause. >> you usually don't know that you're pregnant. >> right. >> you sneeze, and you're pregnant suddenly. i mean, women don't know the fact -- i can't believe that the gop has just become so infiltrated by big government control radicals at this point, that they want to tell you what medical procedure you can have to preserve your life. >> right and the party that wants government to stay out of it is suddenly having government intervene. on the pill, justice alito giving a stay until wednesday. the fate unclear this week. >> we've got to talk more explicitly about what these drugs do and what abortion is used for clearly, the republican party, and a lot of men in it, don't understand a woman's body. as former vice president kamala

harris says. they literally don't i'm not joking this is serious in terms of how stupid can you be. your wives, sisters, aunts, daughters may need health care, and you're going to deny it because of something you don't know anything about. you just want to -- go ahead, rev. >> and they don't care about it. i mean, there is some real deep misogyny here. they just discount women, and you do what i'm told i raised the question at our conference, would we have the same vote from these men if we were talking about outlawing the blue pill. >> exactly. >> i mean -- >> or anything. >> women can't just pregnant by themselves. >> right. >> if you want to outlaw pills, outlaw both sides of this sex equation i think you'd get a different answer the fact they don't even care about what it does to women health issues wise, not even in terms of pregnancy, shows that it is all, you stay in the kitchen and do what i say.

>> so interesting how this plays into presidential politics by the way, despite not even jumping into the 2024 presidential race yet, florida governor ron desantis is already losing support from key republican donors over his extreme positions. just days after the governor signed a six-week abortion ban into law, a key backer tells ""the financial times," quote, because of his stance on abortion and book banning, myself and a bunch of friends are holding our powder dry the businessman who donated nearly $8 million to republicans last year previously said he was, quote, looking forward to supporting a desantis presidential run joe, this, i think, is one sign of perhaps some republicans seeing where america is. >> well, and, again, mike allen, we had two completely different

political worlds we had the world pre-dobbs, the world that we all lived in for 49 years under roe v. wade, and then the post roe world, where, i must say, even i was surprised by the extent of the backlash. kansas, i think it was a 19-point victory for pro choice forces in kansas that was predicted to be a 50/50 vote of course, wisconsin last week, 11 points. you talk to -- i talk to republicans off the record, especially in the senate they're very, very concerned that they're now battling the extremism that voters see, that independents and swing voters see in trump and guns, but especially because this hits home with so many of them because they hear about it at home, this issue of abortion

talk about the challenges it poses, not just ron desantis but other republicans over the next year. >> yeah, joe, you stack that exactly right. republicans are so concerned about how this is going to play. joe, this is a great illustration of why both parties are losing what jim vandehei calls normal america "axios" is up this morning with new data from gallup, though shosh i sh showing most americans say they're now independent. 49% of americans say they're independent. each of the parties has 25%. why is that? because for more and more americans on the issues that we've talked about, the parties are not acting and doing what they want. gallup explained to me that what's driving this is young people used to be independent and they picked a party. now, more and more are seeing those people staying independent as they get older. the parties are losing

marketshare. republicans, in particular, know that this abortion issue is a long-term problem. it's no staccident governor ron desantis tweeted the picture of himself signing it at 11:06 p.m., just before midnight, as opposed to doing an event about it sure, could help him in some republican primaries, but not in new hampshire. they're very concerned about it there. the desantis team well knows what an issue that could be in a general election, if he gets there. >> all right. >> charlie sykes, i love that framing by jim vandehei, quote, normal america reminds me of when i was in congress there were so many times i would just look around at everybody there that was screaming and say, "you know what, guys? nobody outside of this chamber cares about what we're talking about right now. that's the abnormal america. these political extremes also so abnormal what's strange, though, charlie, is think about it, a year ago,

republicans were attacking democrats for obsessing over cultural issues and not focusing on inflation, the southern border, gas prices now, here we are a year later, and it's the republicans obsessing on extreme gun issues, on abortion, on these social issues which used to help them overwhelmingly with their base and even with some independent voters it's having the opposite impact. this has happened all very quickly, hasn't it, as far as the political backlash. >> yeah. you left out, of course, the obsession with drag queen story hour, you know, and banning books. you know, really, the remarkable thing about this abortion question, you know, listening to senator scott, is the pro life movement on the republican party has had 50 years to prepare for this moment. they have had 50 years to create a narrative, to figure out, what are we going to do if we actually catch this car?

how can we make ourselves look like we actually care about life how do we finesse this what is our position on abortion pills? what is our position on having a national ban what should it be? they're caught so unrepaunprepad you can see that by the way ron desantis is behaving with this bill and senator tim scott, who you would have thought would have given consideration to these questions before he got into the race for president you're absolutely right, it is going to be all culture war all the time from the republican party. in terms of the normies, i'm constantly being assured, as you are, joe, you know, that, you know, the normies constitute the majority of the republican party. people in legislature, in congress, will say, most of us are normies. the problem is, they continue to empower the crazies. they continue to look the other way and let the most extreme voices in the party set the

ag agenda the republican party is never going to look normie until the normals actually assert themselves on this issue, so far, we haven't seen that. you see that by the confusion and the inability to articulate what they stand for. >> and you can look in the polls. it's really costing them what a great point republicans have had 49 years to prepare for this post roe world that they were hoping to get to. they didn't do anything to prepare for it and are completely flat-footed and losing independents, of course losing women, educated voters, losing all of the swing voters they need to win in 2024 you could say the same thing about health care. they wanted to get rid of obamacare and replace it with something else my god, that was in 2009 they've done absolutely nothing. here we are in 2023. they have no solution. just say no.

by the way, jonathan lemire, while i have this shot of northern ireland, of course, you know what everybody here yesterday, other than the peace agreement, 25-year anniversary, you know what everybody was talking about, right >> of course it is hard to top that international news, but we do know what they were talking about, joe >> yes. >> it was the -- >> ohtani getting striked out to end the game. >> of course. >> you have the two best players in baseball. who do you take out? of course, send frazier to the mound. seriously, just a collective roar went up when ohtani popped it up. red sox, three-game winning streak i know it's early. get your world series tickets now. >> warm-up the duck boats, joe we're going to need a championship parade here three in a row against the angels journeyman reliever summoned with our closer sideline to face

ohtani dream the inpossibmpossible dre. today is the boston ma marathon, as well as the 11:00 a.m. red sox game. >> thank you very much charlie sykes and mike allen, thank you, both, for being on. ahead, more of joe's sit-down interview with former president bill clinton he weighs in on the war in ukraine and political extremism here in the u.s. also ahead, new york city mayor eric adams joins the conversation as house republicans prepare to hold a field hearing in manhattan today amid the ongoing fight with d.a. alvin bragg. plus, former vice president mike pence gets booed during an nra convention in his home state. we'll take a look at how former president trump jumped on that moment and dominion voting systems' defamation lawsuit against fox news has been delayed. we'll have the latest

developments in the case and what that means. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back.

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i stopped being vice president, about -- excuse me -- before i became vice president, about we're going to go to ireland one day. and i always -- i always wanted beau to be there we started off at the shrine, the blessed mother, and we were with the priest, showing us around he said, "by the way, the priest who gave chaplain who gave your son last rights is here somewhere." 15 minutes later, the priest showed up who hunter biden had spent probably a number of days with because he'd bring the priest in to talk to beau. he showed up he reminded us of talking to beau, how proud he was of beau it just -- i know it's stupid, i hate to say it -- but i felt

like beau was with me. it felt like it completed the circle, joe. i know that sounds stupid maybe, but i just felt like my sister, valerie, and my son, hunter, we just felt like beau was with us. >> wow must have been an incredible moment, joe. tell us more that is so moving. it was a chance meeting. >> it was a chance meeting again, they were visiting the hospice center, a plaque dedicated to the memory of beau biden. somebody said, "the priest who gave him the last rites is here." it was an emotional moment for the priest and the family. a few of them recould nting it t tears in their eyes. the entire trip was really something for the president. i think every president should come to ireland to be revived, as we said on friday

it was john kennedy's favorite trip reagan absolutely loved it bill clinton has been here five, six, seven times of course, a lot of that working for the peace process, the same with hillary clinton she's been here time and time again. it really does seem to revive them let's bring in, with us today, former treasury official and "morning joe" economic analyst steve rattner. steve, i've got a lot i want to talk to you about. we've been talking about it the past few days, about northern ireland and some of the economic challenges first, we need to talk about what warren buffet said friday expect more banks to collapse. there still seems to be a deep unease on wall street and, really, with investors in local regional banks what do you make of buffet's comments, his rediprediction anw rocky is the ride going to be?

>> he said he sold most of his bank stocks, and he doesn't usually -- >> not good. >> yeah, money talks he is clearly down on the banking industry i'm not sure he expects more bank failures as the instability of the industry. as you said, the small regional banks are losing deposits to the big bank what he also said that was interesting was the incentive problem was wrong. bank ceos don't really have -- they have an incentive to take risks, like silicon valley bank, what happened in '08 the worst that happens is they lose their jobs. the best that happens is the banks do really well he is down on banking as a business and thinks we need to do some stuff to fix it. >> the question is, why would anybody invest in regional banks right now, with the problems with silicon valley bank, problems with first republic why would anybody not be concerned about having their money in regional banks? >> as an investor or depositor

>> investor and a depositor. >> as a depositor, you're insured up to $250,000 effectively, you're completely insured. we sort of said that after the failure of silicon valley bank as an investor, the problem is the money is going to the big banks. the big banks reported earnings last friday, and they were off the charts great that's where the money is headed. >> yeah. let's talk about northern ireland. there is obviously, right now, over the past year and a half, this 25-year celebration has to deal with the past year and a half of a dysfunctional government in fact, they haven't had a government brexit has really made things complicated here what's the problem are they going to fix it >> it is ironic that, in all the negotiations over brexit with 26 different countries, all the issues they had to deal with, the hardest one they had to deal with was northern ireland. there is no real border anymore, as you know, between northern ireland and the republic since the uk was staying in -- was getting out of brexit, northern ireland presumably was

getting out with it, which would require a hard border between the north and south, which nobody in ireland really wanted. anyway, it went on a long time, and they finally reached an agreement for a soft border tw between the uk and northern ireland. some goods would be checked. local goods would not be, so on and so forth the consequence of that was the dup, the protestant party refused to participate in the government, so it's been shut down that is a work in progress. >> finally, let's just talk about britt fain in general their economy, boy, is really struggling right now why? >> a bunch of reasons. first of all, britain's economy was struggling before brexit britain had a problem of low productivity, low investment that goes back quite a few years. it is something of a recession now which has a bit to do with brexit i was a reporter in the '80s when thatcher was there. >> you covered the troubles. >> i was here in northern

ireland at that time, as well, yes. the famous europa hotel where the clintons were staying was the most bombed out place in europe, surrounded by barbed wire if you see it like i did yesterday, just amazing. the problems with britain are structural, exacerbated by what i saw in the '80s. labor unrest, people unhappy, disgruntlement, and a need for people to pull the country together they've had a number of governments in a short period of time, they need stability. >> they really do. steve rattner, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> greatly appreciate it mika, what do we have coming up >> coming up on "morning joe," senator lindsey graham calls out another republican for defending the national guardsman accused of leaking classified documents. we'll play for you those comments. also ahead, a look at how vice president kamala harris is becoming the white house's top messenger on abortion rights

"morning joe" is coming right back a great dane? two great danes?! i know. giant uncle dane and his giant beard. maybe a dragon? no, dragons are boring. twin sisters! and one is a robot and one is a knight. and i'll be on the side of... the octopus. rawr!!! the volkswagen atlas. more room for possibilities.

45 past the hour so much news to get to this morning. the defamation trial between dominion voting systems and fox news has been delayed by at least one day. the judge in the case announced last night that jury selection and opening statements will begin tomorrow instead of today. the judge didn't provide a reason for this but is expected to make an announce ment about the change later this morning. two sources tell "the washington post" the delay is to allow both parties time to hold conversations about the possibility of a settlement. if a settlement is not reached, opening statements begin tomorrow in the case around whether fox news talent and executives knowingly misled their audience about the integrity of the 2020 election and dominion's role in it.

we will continue to follow the case as it happens now, the annual state of black america report from the national urban league uses data and analytics to lay out issues within the country to black citizens the report details a wide variety of threats, from law enforcement to legislatures and newly passed laws, to education restrictions and the growth of book bans. the report also talks about the rise in hate crimes in the country. according to a preliminary report from the center for the study of hate and extremism at california state university in san bernardino, hate crimes increased by 44% in 2021 joining us now to break it all down, president and ceo of the national urban league, mark morial michelle miller's husband. >> that's my claim to fame. >> that's how we have to -- >> that is my claim to fame. good morning to you.

good morning to all. >> great to have you let's start with that data on hate crimes and why all this work is so important things are not getting better. >> mika, this report really dove tails into what you all have been talking about all morning, the tphilosophy of extremism, te doctrine infiltrating mainstream politics what we seek to do with this report is connect the dot. how is it affecting public policy decisions hundreds of bills have been introduced just since january 1 of this year, to continue this campaign of voter suppression. another 500 pieces of legislation have been introduced in states across the nation to suppress, sensor, restrict the teaching of african-american history, black history, and structural racism.

and the fbi is noting that many of these right-wing, far right militia groups have active relationships with law enforcement. so this threat is a significant threat, and it's the wake-up call to all, that we've got to battle i, we have to fight it. it affects black americans most deeply, but it affects all americans because it is destabilizing to american democracy. >> absolutely. it's not just hate crimes that are random it's hate that is embedded in the political system, reverend al. >> no problem with really underscoring how important this report is. the urban league always gives an annual report. for them to go from just economic data to this, i think, is significant marc, when you came to our conference last week at national action network, with other legacy organizations talking about this, the other thing that is different is that you worked

with jonathan greenblad, me and others in having a white house conference or -- >> united we stand. >> yes, last fall. it is a real, heightened problem that is not just one group it is any non-white group, and it is at an emergency level. >> out of the summit and out of the work we are doing together, we have project code, which is designed to build awareness amongst the community, about hate groups and hate crimes, and how to respond to it this, on the voter suppression front, can be stopped by the congress of the united states. all they have to do is pass the john lewis voting rights advancement act, the freedom to vote act on the history front, we must understand that this country could descend into a period of, like, the age of darkness, anti-intellectualism let's not tell the truth. >> anti-history. >> anti-history.

we have a bind on black history today. what is tomorrow we're going to fight it with every fiber. >> i remember, jonathan lemire, the beginning of the trump presidency, member of the family saying, we don't have to look at history. we don't need to care about it i remember that being striking to me. like, it was sort of like a blink moment, where i thought, this is going to be the way things are going with their message. >> yeah. >> republican party. >> had no fluency with american history whatsoever, and lessons to be learned from it. that's where i was hoping you'd go further what we're seeing, the impact in the classrooms with books being banned, with, you know, different philosophies being obscured, with fundamental parts of the american history refuse to be taught, what impact are you seeing there >> it has spurred a backlash we're going to launch a freedom to learn campaign in may with a number -- with a broad array of

academics, scholars, intellectuals, legacy organizations behind it. see, this is the thing, all of a sudden, politicians want to make education policy this is not educators. this is not teachers these are politicians who don't effectively fund education, who now want to interfere in what's taught it's dangerous because it is inconsistent with the first amendment, and it is inconsistent with the free exercise of information and thought that is a time-honored american tradition so we've got to fight it we've got to battle it we cannot allow it to become normalized my concern is the normalization of extremism it's always been there it's been on the fringe. it's been on the outside it's now affecting, animating and driving mainstream politics. >> one of the greatest shortcomings of our country is black women maternal mortality rate, infant mortality rate.

can you talk about what your research and the report revealed about the new restrictions on women's health and how they disproportionately impact women of color. >> deeply impact black women and their health and their right to make choices about their own body it's seen as an attack on civil rights it's seen as an attack on people i people's right to make individual decisions we know many of the challenges of maternal health strike at black women and black families most deeply. we need every choice, every tool, every medicine, every safe therapy at our disposal to try to address that. so that is -- the extremism is now in that arena, as well that's the point of this report. it is now, mika, affecting public policy decisions quite deeply >> yes. >> we need a coalition of the willing, the able and the committed to resist it. >> i would think the national urban league's state of black

america report has a multi-pronged call to action. >> it does tomorrow, we'll be at morehouse college with the young students there in the atlanta university center, to have a panel discussion and an official event releasing this report. those of you in atlanta, come sees you if not, check us out you i don't know -- online the report is available online to each and every one. we wanted to be, as reverend sharpton said and we had a discussion at his conference, to spur conversation. a duiscussion and call to action >> ceo and president of the national urban league. >> and michelle miller's husband. >> you have that right she is amazing, and i love her book. >> thank you so much >> marc morial, thank you very much. still ahead, we'll have a look at the stories making front page headlines across the country. the top of the next hour, new york city mayor eric adams is our guest "morning joe" is back in a moment

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few minutes before the top of the hour. looking at the morning papers, we begin in florida. "the bradenton herald" announces the trial for gillum is set to begin today. he gained attention when running for governor in 2018, narrowly losing to desantis now, he and his political adviser are accused of lying to the fbi and defrauding mega-donors. his trial is expected to last three weeks. he's denied wrongdoing "the detroit free press" has a front page feature on a deadly fungus spreading through michigan officials say they're struggling with a multi-facility outbreak in the southeastern region of the state. the fungus has infected and killed vulnerable people in

medical centers across the country. the cdc has warned it spreads quickly and is resistant to anti-fun anti-fungal treatments "the jackson sun" says there is a review of eligibility for medicaid many are signed up for tenncare, and 30% qualify for automatic renewal. the rest have to fill out paperwork to confirm they meet the financial requirements officials estimate more than 350,000 residents could lose coverage and in louisiana, "the advocate" reports hurricanes are a factor in low school enrollment in the past three years, student enrollment in public schools across the state has dropped nearly 5%. districts hardest hit by hurricane lauren in 2020 saw the most losses. accounting for a fifth of the

students who were missing from sc school, records that fall. another decline was reported after hurricane ida in 2021. then there is covid, of course the republican-led house jrudiciary committee will have a special field hearing today, meant to discredit the prosecutor leading the criminal case against trump there it is exactly the top of the hour in manhattan, committee chair jim jordan says he plans to highlight the, quote, pro-crime, anti-victim policies of district attorney alvin bragg bragg has become a top political target of republicans for his decision to charge trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records this month after a grand jury voted in favor of indicting the former president. last week, the d.a. filed a federal lawsuit against jordan over what he says are brazen and unconstitutional attempts to

interfere with a state-run investigation. despite focusing on bragg, the judiciary committee has not invited him to testify at today's hearing. i wonder why let's bring in the mayor of new york city, eric adams. by the way, what do you think of this field hearing in your city about, hmm, crime? >> i think it's the highest level of hypocrisy we know that cities all across america are dealing with the issues around public safety, particularly with criminal justice system right in the largest city in ohio, it was reported today in one of the tabloids, the murders of over 50% in the first quarter. while crime is going down, homicides are going down, some of the major crimes, you're trending in the right direction. subway system crime is going down i think coming here and highlighting d.a. bragg, it's really a political stunt. >> the d.a. has been taking it from all sides with donald trump

going after him right before the indictment now, trump is being very careful with his words the heat that he's getting still exists and, yet, he is fighting back and suing even. >> yeah. district attorney bragg has been forceful in rebutting these republican efforts mr. mayor, of course, some of these threats from those close to former president trump, we know that a letter with suspicious powder was sent to the d.a.'s office two weeks ago. he's called for greater nypd presence i was there when the former president was indicted, and it was locked down. talk about the strain which is putting on the city as this trial -- you know, we've had one moment when the former president comes back in the months ago, too, what is it going to do, and are the republicans making your job harder >> it's the duality of what's happening on a state level with attorney general james also carrying out her investigation

then you have -- not only do you have threats, we are going to make sure d.a. bragg, he has a prob proper protection around him each time the former president comes to the city, he has a tendency to bring those who are coming from outside, trying to disrupt our way of life. the new york city police department is always prepared. we're going to make sure this trial goes off without a problem. >> mr. mayor, i might suggest to maybe the reason the congressman, chairman jordan, wants to come to new york is it's safer than if he went to columbus, ohio, where data shows it is much more dangerous. not to minimize the challenges we face here but talk about how you are working with other mayors now and civil rights leaders to set a national agenda. we talked last week at national action network's conference where you chaired with a couple other mayors the need to now start dealing with gun violence and violence in our urban

communities. and a collective, national agenda what we're seeing is, we must go from the noun of aggressive to the adjective. what is aggressive >> true. >> there is nothing progressive about letting criminals go on. there is nothing progressive about bad police or bad policing policy talk about this national drive that you want to involve people, including people that may have been in need of a second chance, that know how to deal with these issues. >> so true i think a real reflection of where we are now as a nation is what happened in chicago a thousand young people went downtown. >> yup. >> we have to make sure, as i say, intervention and prevention you can't not have the cities disrupted. our goal is to bring together mayors across the entire country and partner with civil rights leaders and business leaders, of coming out with a real blueprint for the cities in our country.

an urban agenda that we want to deal with how do we prevent the issues from happening, and how do we make the cities safer? >> it's not just cities now in terms of mass shootings. it's everywhere. cities are dealing with it predominantly. listen to this latest. and, by the way, it is practically daily when it comes to mass shootings. alabama police are seeking information from the public after a mass shooting at a sweet 16 birthday party. four people were killed. get this, 28 people were injured. nbc news correspondent priscilla thompson has the latest. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: what began as a sweet 16 party celebrating life ended in a massacre. >> very horrific for the children, probably traumatized, especially at a 16th birthday

party. >> reporter: the tragedy taking place in a small dance studio in dadeville, just east of montgomery. >> i was hoping it wasn't true i was hoping someone was shooting fireworks, scaring the kids you know, we don't have gun violence here. >> reporter: investigators say a gunman opened fire saturday night, killing four, and that 28 others were injured. michael taylor is an assistant football coach at dadeville high >> we're going to have to be a family now counselling for kids this is going to take a while for them to recover from this. >> reporter: investigators providing few details about how the shooting unfolded and declining to say whether they have identified or arrested a suspect. confirming only that the investigation remains ongoing. >> we've got to have information from the community if you are at home right now or you know somebody that has any information, we absolutely need you to share it. >> reporter: authorities say

there is no active threat. dadeville is the latest community to be shattered by gun violence the shooting there happening within hours of a deadly mass shooting in louisville, kentucky police say two people died and four more were rushed to the hospital after shots were fired into a crowd at a park >> so tired of this. i can't make any sense of it >> reporter: that shooting just days after a mass shooting at a bank in the same city left five dead more prayers but little solutions. >> elise jordan, in this shooting, just like all the others, the stories are unfathomable a 16-year-old is celebrating her sweet 16, and among the victims, her brother. young people politically, young people are taking up this issue they are beginning to say, "we have to worry about ourselves because no one else will."

>> that's just heartbreaking, and in such a small, deep south town. >> were they even prepared think of that question. >> was there a hospital with a large trauma unit and surgeons readily available for that volume of victims coming in? >> 28 injured. four dead. >> it is heartbreaking i think sometimes about how i want to move home to mississippi, and i think about schools now that i have a child who is going to be going to school in a couple of years. >> it's a real thing. >> there are many reasons i don't want the child to go to a new york city public school, i'll be honest or, you know, i'm from the south. >> any big city school. >> but there's never been a mass shooting at a new york city school, which is perhaps the most attractive aspect it's sad that has to be first and foremost can you talk about, what are the policy choices that new york city have made, that have made the schools, overall, fairly safe >> i think you raised a good point. when you see a sweet 16 turn

into a bitter reality of violence, it just traumatized our entire country the bullet, when it bhits the body of individuals, it is ripping apparent anybody who is a parent we have not had a shooting on schoolgrounds at all, mass shootings or not we've confiscating weapons from young people carrying them into schools. it's a combination of the school safety officers and our police officers what's interesting is that many were calling to remove school safety officers out of schools i stated when i ran for office that would not happen as long as i'm the mayor. >> you know what was also really a safe place to be the nra convention they have metal detecters there and couldn't have guns in there. if you want to be safe, go to an nra convention what you'll find, reverend al, as you pointed out in our last hour, is their guns, kids taking pictures holding guns. people allowing kids to hold

guns and taking pictures of that i -- i'm not going to do the shock opera because it is heartbreaking. >> it is. >> because it's ripping our country and our children apart. >> it's so true. >> to have little children holding guns, to normalize it at that age, is just sinful but, you know, mr. mayor, when i was growing up in brooklyn, i read this book by john kennedy, "profiles in courage." leadership is courage. one of the things you're doing and other mayors that are harkening to your call is showing courage. enough courage to stand up to the extremists on the leftand the right. people are dying we need courageous leadership at this time rather than these daily reports of, oh, the mass shooting now moved here. oh, it's here. oh, do you have a camera there i mean, this is insane. >> it's this whole con co

conspiratorial behavior. eve on the right, everyone should have a gun on the other side, repercussions, nothing should happen the american people are caught in the middle. >> then you have the field hearing, this is what they should be talking about. instead -- >> right. >> -- we should have having a massive, collective, national conversation on how to prevent mass shootings every republican out there who is so extreme on this issue, and there are way too many, a mass shooting is going to come to a town or a city or a neighborhood near you i don't say that with joy. i don't say that, like, gotcha i say, like, are you crazy do you really want to live like this do you want your children and grandchildren to live worried that they are going to die just leaving their homes, jonathan lemire yet, this field hearing, picking at alvin bragg, picking at -- i

mean, they're lost >> yeah, we should note the priorities of this republican congress right now, the field hearing with alvin bragg and hunter biden and the laptop. no work on guns, no work on other issues that are paramount to the american people, and not even the looming debt ceiling fight, which the white house has been urging them to do mr. mayor, we'll switch gears and talk about a personal crusade of yours lately. rats. >> oh, my gosh. >> oh! >> so you've appointed a rat czar. >> good idea washington, d.c., needs to do that, too. >> so there are -- new york city, home to many of us, has a rat problem. tell us what you're trying to do about it. >> it's what we found. first of all, i don't know if people really understand the fact that i have rats. >> just here. >> you definitely do. >> really, this crusade started when i was running for president. a group of mothers showed me

babies being bidden by rats. no one cared they lived in public housing we started to look, how do we deal with this number one, it is an emotional issue as well as a health issue. can you imagine starting your day and a rat jumps out of your cabinet? it traumatizes you we are hiring a czar that is going to coordinate all our efforts. it was a disjointed effort we had the department of health, department of hygiene,sanitatio, education, all operating separately now, we're coordinating the effort we found an amazing young lady at 10 years old. she did a petition on her block. >> really good idea. >> yes. >> this is so important. i think other cities -- i definitely know, having spent time in washington, that it's very difficult you really have to have, like, an entire entity and a person on top of it. listen, the end of an era in new york city. "family phantom of the oprah."

i couldn't gave andrew lloyd webber a key to the city. >> mainly because of his play "cats," i need him to come back and help. >> incredible. you need him. >> we all know the tune, "don't cry for me, argentina. i mean, those songs and plays just really shaped our lives 50 years of commitment and dedication he has a new play, we're really excited and wanted to give him the key to the city. >> lovely. an andrew lloyd webber will be on the show this morning. >> great. >> new york city mayor eric adams, thank you very much for coming in. we appreciate it still ahead on "morning joe," new reporting on vice president kamala harris' leading role in the biden administration's fight to protect abortion access. plus, we'll be joined by florida's state senate democratic leader on the heels of governor desantis quietly signing a new six-week abortion ban. also this morning, one of our next guests argues the gop

can save itself if trump runs and then loses the election. "the daily beast" explains that. you're watching "morning joe." we will be right back.

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where everybody, we went to church with everybody that was in our neighborhood. they all went out hunting. you've talked about -- >> yeah. >> -- shotguns growing up. same here. but it's gotten so extreme what do we do? >> well, one thing's pretty clear, whatever we do, we need to do it more together i think we need to start talking across this divide i remember when jack brooks, who was the congressman from texas, had enjoyed the support of the nra in every election he was ever in. tom foley, the speaker of the house from washington. they both told me that when the senate put in the assault weapons ban, into the crime bill, which i wanted, that if i signed it, we would lose the house. and we did and they lost their seats. because of the ability of the nra to terrify people, but also

because we were beginning to lose touch with each other across cultural divides that had always existed but hadn't been barriers you couldn't breach. >> don't you think that's changing a bit with, whether it's -- >> i do. >> -- republican extremism on guns, whether it's republican extremism on abortion. you look at what happened in kansas you look at what happened in wisconsin last week. you look at what happened in michigan don't you think -- >> yes. >> -- voters are finally, these swing voters are finally saying enough >> yes i think if you look at the it shall afro v wter roe v. wade w repealed, the people like in michigan, they went straight to the ballot box in kansas, straight to the ballot box i think if -- i urge this approach way back in the '90s, on trying to restrict assault weapons. but it's a lot of trouble, you

know, costly, it takes time. you know, we've never done the ballot box as much as we should have in colorado in 2000, when president bush beat al gore, i think by 9 points or something, colorado voted for background checks at gun shows by 70% in a referendum because a big problem with gun owners is they say, well, you know, what these people want to do sounds reasonable, but it's a slippery slope how do i know it'll be limited i argued that weerendums and let people vote on it. neighbors have to talk to neighbors and treat each other like people. because i -- on my side, there are too many people who favor a lot of these gun measures who don't know any of these country

people they don't understand that, you know, most of 'em, you would be glad to have as neighbors if your house caught on fire. they'd come over and take your kids to safety and come back and help put the fire out. but this whole thing has come to stand for something that's not what it's about. it's crazy we need to start asking each other for help on this you know, it is not rational that we should have a dramatically higher death rate among school-aged children because of gun violence than any other country in the world and, you know, a lot of people get mad about this thoughts and prayers, but if you believe that you have to -- if you believe you are compelled to let kids die in order to keep your

freedoms, that's sort of the way this debate is and it reminds me of, to come back to ireland, when we started talking about this, we were asking people to go to meetings who had lost family members in this violence. we were asking people to go to meetings with people they knew had set off bombs. that's the way you begin again you have to do it. i think -- well, the gun thing at home, the only thing i'll say is i think that the people like me, who think we ought to limit ammunition clips to ten bullets, for example, we just need to tart asking these people for help ask them to come to meetings ask them to talk to us because you don't have to win 'em all. you just have to get people who will believe that you're not going to take their guns away,

you're not going to take their right to hunt and sports shoot away you're not going to take away their right to have weapons to protect their families if they live way out in the country, in a rural area that's an hour, maybe two hours from the nearest law enforcement. >> these voids, these political extremes also exist as it pertains to women's health you heard former president bill clinton talking about abortion protesters gathered across the nation over the weekend, including at the supreme court in washington, d.c., as the showdown over reproductive rights returns to the nation's highest court this week. on friday, supreme court justice samuel alito temporarily blocked lower court rulings that restricted the use of mifepristone it will remain available to women across the country until at least wednesday while the court weighs in on the latest efforts to ban the abortion pill

the case stems from a texas judge who ruled against the fda's approval of the drug meanwhile, florida's new law restricting abortion after six weeks will not go into effect just yet that's because the florida supreme court is currently weighing whether to uphold the state's current 15-week abortion ban. the 6-week ban will only take effect if the current ban is upheld joining us now, florida state senator and democratic leader lauren book. thank you so much for joining us i wonder if you could explain what this 6-week ban would mean for women in florida. >> good morning. thank you so much for having me. very plainly put, what this means for women in florida, and really across the southeast, i women and girls will die they will suffer this is one of the most restrict i abortion bans in the country even more so than texas in some ways they ban the use of telehealth they have two physicians to

certify fetal fatal abnormalities. they also have a rape and incest exemption up to 15 weeks, but you have to show paperwork, have documentation, have a court injunction as a survivor of sexual asult my assault myself, we know those things don't happen. this will hurt women and girls throughout the southeast. >> what is being done to try and communicate this to republican leaders in florida, and what do you make of ron desantis doing a signing, semi in private, and tweeting this late at night? i'm confused is he proud of himself, or is he trying to hide it? what's going on? >> i think we're all confused living in florida right now, in the dystopian ron desantis florida. we wish he'd decide to run for president and get out of florida so we can stay safe. look, you know, he did so sign this in the darkness of night. wouldn't talk about the bill signing, you know, when he was at a conservative university the very next day. look, what does this mean and

what have we done? we have communicated to -- and we all know this is not something that floridians support. 75% of floridians don't support these types of bans. it's dangerous we know that women are being sent home in our state, not just in texas, to develop acsepsis, carrying a fetus that isn't viable they're using this rhetoric to create policy, and how dangerous it is for women in the southeast. it is horrific i believe this is going to come home to roost. >> i'm curious politically what your options are i want to empt thasize what you said because it is not an understatement women will die mifepristone, being able to terminate pregnancies, it is not just about terminating a normal pregnancy very late in a pregnancy, it's about women's health it's about women's life or death situations

i don't think that can be stated enough because it seems to be, often, sort of washed over as just one specific thing. what can democrats do? you don't have the votes yet, as you said, 75% of floridians are on a different side of this. >> we're working on getting this on the ballot in '24 that's our only option at this point. to continue to show the depravity, really, of the extreme gop agenda in florida. it is getting it on the ballot, having people come out and use their voice. i heard former president bill clinton's comments on your segment previously it is getting people to talk to each other we know this universally isn't supported. abortion is health care. it's always existed and always will exist it is whether or not it is safe. now in the southeast it's not. people came to florida to receive some of the reproductive health care, and now the closest option is north carolina creating medical refugees to get the care they need

it's horrific and wrong. we're going to do all that we can to fight back. >> florida state senator democratic leader lauren book, thank you very much for coming on the show this morning we appreciate it and the biden administration is reportedly using vice president kamala harris as its main messenger in the fight for reproductive rights. harris spoke at a women's march in los angeles this weekend, as well as the national action network convention in new york on friday, and reverend al will chime in on that joining us now, nbc news washington correspondent yamiche alcindor your new reporting reads in part, this, kamala harris has hosted scores of events since it became apparent last year that the supreme court would overturn roe v. wade. looking ahead, she's set to hold at least one event a week focused on reproductive rights no other senior biden administration official is as credible as harris when it comes to abortion rights democratic strategists argue it is an issue that she

understands on a visceral level, as both a woman and a former prosecutor who handled sexual violence cases biden needs her to deliver on the defense of abortion rights some believe if she improves her image by promoting an issue uniquely important to women, younger voters and the democratic base, she can give the ticket a lift. yamiche, i don't disagree with that i think she's really well versed on this. i think she was one of the first to come out and say that republican men just don't understand the way a woman's body works and she's right. because this, again, isn't just about terminating pregnancies. this is about women's health tell us more about how the vice president can be really useful in the messaging on this. >> well, mika, good morning. the vice president really has seized on this issue since roe v. wade. even the news of roe v. wade

being overturned was something that was in the air. she was in her office. we have reporting she was in her office when the leak happened, and she was surprised and shocked and told her aides immediately, "we have to start working on this. then she was on a plane to illinois when the actual, official roe v. wade was overturned in the supreme court making it official she was reading the decision line by line she really has come out and held scores of events, more than 40 events since roe v. wade has been overturned. she's done something like 38 media interviews, including more than 20 local media interviews what she's been trying to say here is, in her view, which is a critical women's health care issue. she's been vocal about is that one of the things we wanted to hone in on is the fact that this is an issue that really plays to who she is personally, as a woman and woman and color, and also as a prosecutor who handled a number of cases, including cases involving sexual violence. this is someone well versed in what women are deal winning in this country she, of course, was out this

weekend. she made a surprise speech in l.a. at a women's march. take a listen to what she said >> understand for all of you who are watching, who walk around wearing those lapel pins, requiring that people look at you with some level of respect, when you attack the rights of women in america, you are attacking america. >> she's also been very vocal at the national action network which, of course, reverend app sharpton, who is with you this morning, he was there when she was giving these remarks i want to play a little of that for our audience to listen in. >> they attack the freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body instead of the government they attack medication that, for to 20 years, the fda ruled as being safe just yesterday, in florida, extremists there signed a 6-week ban before most women even know

they're pregnant and then, isn't it interesting, that in the midst of all these attacks, on fundamental freedoms, the so-called leaders dare to tell us they are fighting for our freedoms. >> there, you can really hear, mika, she's someone who has seized on this issue i was talking to a number of people, more than two dozen people who are close to her, inside and outside the white house. they say this is an issue that speaks to the morals of her. she's personally invested in this issue we have to note her approval ratings are a part of this she's trailing president biden when it comes to approval ratings. people close to her say don't focus on her approval ratings because it is tied directly to the president's approval ratings. there are at least one white house official who told us that while the white house is very much involved in this issue because they believe it's the

right thing to do, to try to get more access to abortion for women, they're also hoping this will help them in 2024 galvanize voters and really mobilize people and get people really, really excited to try and vote for, of course, this -- the president and the vice president. of course, i should say, they haven't officially announced they're running, but they're expected to announce they're running. >> yamiche alcindor, thank you so much for your reporting wow, you could really see her, reverend al, connecting there on this issue this is definitely a great move on the biden administration's part, putting her out there on this she's good her talents are really showing when it comes to this issue and this fight. >> no, she has the passion and -- >> she does. >> -- fire on this issue what was interesting to me, when she spoke at our conference on friday, a lot of our members are very much for civil rights, very much for reform, but some of

them are very religious and have different views in terms of choice and not having choice she got through with them because she talked about freedom and freedom of choice. she buput it in a context, that saw some fundamental ministers that are a part of national action network saying, now, i can support that, even though i may advise my daughter differently.kamala harris could. she's the first woman, not only the first black woman, first woman to be vice president of the united states. she's addressing this personally as a woman and as a -- >> she's got it. as a prosecutor, she knows what this is about. >> absolutely. >> she can talk circles around republicans who somehow cannot see reality and religion on this, quite frankly, when it comes to 50 years of rights taken aaway. first of all, there is something

wrong with women, and men who love them, are incredibly i insulted they know something is wrong i can't say it enough, it's about our lives, about our health care, about being able to go to the hospital and receive treatment and not die. that's where we are right now. jonathan lemire, kamala harris is finding a voice here that i think is incredibly effective. >> yeah. it's no secret that a year or so back, there were some doubts in the west wing about some of the missteps the vice president made politically. they feel like she has really rounded into form, particularly on this issue, for the reasons we discussed, why she is so good on this. also, this is not an issue where the president should be. they feel like should be forthright and in the middle of it she's a better messenger also, her trip to africa was well received recently the white house has been quick to rally to her defense. every so often, there's rumors, from democrats, too, will the president drop her for the ticket of course, the answer is no, but the white house has been quick to defend her. even last night, the president

tweeting about what a great partner she has been for his administration they're making it very clear, indeed, if he runs, vice president harris will be a key part of the ticket. >> joe biden is loyal. he stands behind his people. you know, i tell you, this has been an incredibly good couple of months for kamala harris. this issue is a winning one for her. this is where america is, and she can speak to it in a way i haven't actually seen out there. she was well received at your event. >> standing ovation. i mean, you've had -- we've had the last two, three presidents, and you tell people to be polite we were trying to tell people to get to the next -- >> simmer down, please. >> she really energized the crowd. she's really come into her real passion with this. i think it's because people feel -- you know, i'm a preacher people can feel you before they hear you they can feel this is personal. >> what republicans don't get,

reverend app, tl, this is not j about women. there are as many men on the side of -- >> men that love women >> yeah. >> i have two daughters. >> right. >> you're talking about women that are fathers. >> the men who love them. >> that's right. >> they're now outspoken they're now saying, you know, yeah, i don't want this for my -- >> it is 2023. we need to use every medical and scientific tool at our disposal to protect women's lives. >> lives. >> and to protect their health, so that women don't have to suffer the way they have for basically the majority of humanity. >> we will bring you more stories of women in these states with the strict abortion rules who are dying or being forced to go through a pregnancy with a child that will be stillborn think about that. >> i can't imagine. >> baby growing inside a woman's belly. >> can't imagine. >> people are congratulating her. the siblings are waiting for this baby. she knows, she has to carry -- think about the impact on her

mental health. and her physical health. because of these bans, because the doctors can't give her a procedure that will save her life coming up, we're going to have the latest in the investigation into leaked documents and the national guardsman who is accused of putting the information online meanwhile, congresswoman marjorie taylor greene got called out by a fellow republican for a social media post defending the national guardsman. we'll show you that. and a superpac aligned with florida governor ron desantis goes after trump we'll show you that attack ad, all ahead on "morning joe. and it could strike at any time. think you're not at risk? wake up. because shingles could wake up in you. if you're over 50, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about shingles prevention.

44 past the hour the man accused of one of the largest leaks of classified information in years is due back in court this week 21-year-old air national

guardsman jack teixeira is facing charges as the pentagon comes under pressure to explain why he had access to such highly sensitive information. nbc news chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell has the latest >> reporter: as accused leaker, 21-year-old airman jack teixeira, faces a detention hearing wednesday after being arrested at his home and charged with possessing and sharing classified documents, the outrage is growing over the biggest u.s. intelligence breach in a decade. according to "the washington post," citing documents not seen by nbc news, leaked pentagon assessments include troubling details about taiwan's ability to fend off a chinese invasion among the revelations, that taiwanese officials count their a -- doubt their air defenses can stop attacks other documents not verified by nbc news reports the chinese spy

balloon shot down carried sensors and antennas the u.s. hadn't identified more than a week after shooting it down. and the u.s. knew of up to four additional chinese spy balloons. the pentagon is declining comment. parties want to know why teixeira, an i.t. specialist, was able to take documents home according to the government's affidavit without being caught. >> through life patterns that were clearly signals that he might be a likely leaker of information in the future, then also the access that he was having to this information should have been cut off. >> reporter: among america's allies, the diplomatic fallout is growing >> who wants to share information with the united states if you're going to read about it in the paper or find it on the internet? >> reporter: still, secretary of state tony blinken haat a g7 meeting in japan said he sees no sign allies are withholding information from the u.s. >> what i heard so far at least

is an appreciation for the steps we're taking, and it's not affected our cooperation >> you heard republican senator lindsey graham the republican also slammed congresswoman marjorie taylor greene of georgia for her tweets defending the accused national guardsman. just crazy greene tweeted, quote, jack teixeira is white, male, christian and anti-war that makes him an enemy to the biden regime he told the truth about troops being on the ground in ukraine and a lot more ask yourself, who is the real enemy? in response, graham said this. >> what they're suggesting will destroy america's ability to defend itself. that it's okay to release classified information based on your political views

that the ends justify the means. it is not okay if you're a member of the military intelligence community and you disagree with american policy, you think you're going to be okay when it comes to leaking classified information, you're going to go to jail it's one of the most irresponsible statements you can make for any member of congress to suggest it is okay to leak classified information because you agree with the cause is terribly irresponsible and puts america in serious danger. >> well, to highlight what lindsey graham said, jonathan lemire, it really is such an extreme, to take a position -- i mean, it's kind of -- why? why would she do that, actually? i have to ask, what's the political game here? >> i mean, the thought is -- >> doesn't make sense. >> you heard her playing the culture wars there, you know, with the biden administration. obviously, she's also not been supportive of the administration's efforts to help ukraine in their war. >> okay. >> that's part of it, too. let's remember, this is far from

the craziest thing she's ever said, this congresswoman who tries to get attention she fundraises off it, likes to be a celebrity on the right. elise, setting aside her nonsense, and good for senator graham who is willing to fall out fellow republicans on national securityish ississues,s always been doing that. >> yeah. >> the leak is worrisome some of the revelations inside, including the u.s. believes it may thinks ukraine can't mount a counteroffensive but that these documents could be in the hands of someone low in the chain of command, and now it's out for everybody to see. >> after the breaches of classi information that a low level national guardsman needed access to this kind of war planning and intelligence and top secret

assessments? we haven't learn anything and haven't revamped the information security it is an indictment of so much of the change that needs to happen within the national security bureaucracy. spacex is preparing to launch the starship rocket this morning and expected to carry passengers to the moon and mars. we will have new reporting on that just ahead on "morning joe. (psst psst) ahhhh... with flonase, allergies don't have to be scary. spray flonase sensimist daily for non-drowsy, long lasting relief in a scent-free, gentle mist. (psst psst) flonase. all good. next on behind the series... let me tell you about the greatest roster ever assembled. the monster, the outlaw... and you can't forget about the boss. sometimes- you just want to eat your heroes.

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nbc news correspondent tom costello reports. >> reporter: the vision for the future for elon musk starts here starship is the most powerful rocket ever built, taller than the apollo saturn 5 to carry more cargo and humans. nasa said for the rocket to carry artemis astronauts to the lunar surface perhaps as soon as 2025 to boldly gone where no one has gone before. carrying hundreds of astronauts to mars. even building a human colony the nasa chief says that's happening quick. >> how soon will there be nasa boots on mars? >> 2040. >> reporter: spacex is testing starship for years

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report the launch is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. eastern. a republican congresswoman has a warning about the inaction on violence as another community is grieving following a deadly mass shooting with 28 injured, 4 dead we'll have the latest from alabama. this was during a sweet 16 birthday party if you can imagine. also ahead, senator tim scott of south carolina takes an extreme stand on abortion rights exp exploring a presidential campaign "morning joe" is coming right back

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another community is grieving this morning following another deadly mass shooting this time it was at a birthday party in small town alabama. we'll have the latest in the investigation and the reaction to more gun violence in america.

a daily occurrence almost coming as the nra held the annual convention this weekend in indianapolis with donald trump as a top speak er we'll show you the mixed reaction to a possible challenger to trump. also new reporting on the wealthy donors backing away from desantis and why they ditching him. plus, the legal fight over abortion medication will go before the sport this week we'll break down the new developments in this case. good morning and welcome to "morning joe." it is monday, april 18th with us is white house bureau chief at politico jonathan he mere i think i just saw you on tv. >> thank you. >> former aide elise jordan.

the host of "politics nation" and president of the national action network is al sharpton and founder of the conservative website the bulwark is with us and mike allen president biden is back in the u.s. this week after wrapping up the trip to ireland on friday. that's where joe is rite now before he left he spoke outside a cathedral to a crowd of thousands. he talked about the relationship between the u.s. and ireland and about his own personal ties to the area saying ireland isn't just a part of his family history, but also a part of his soul joe is still in ireland this morning in belfast having spent the weekend interviewing key architects of the good friday agreement, former president bill

clinton, former secretary of state hillary clinton and president jerry adams. joe, what have you been hearing 25 years later after this historic peace accord? >> president biden timed the trip over here to line up with the good friday agreement. it is something 25 years ago the world was shocked that these sides that had hated each other, spent over 40 years killing each other decided to laydown the arms and function together as a group, as a government so, this meeting in belfast is part celebration bill clinton and tony blair and the irish prime minister said the part reunion 25 years later they can't believe they every back but it is also a bit of a

working trip because even with the peace agreement 25 years later there's still problems in northern ireland the sides are fraying a bit. brexit has caused considerable problems here. so they're back together and everybody's talking about how to keep the peace process moving forward. they will be doing that at queens university where hillary clinton is the first woman chancellor there so i talked to her and bill clinton. tony blair just got finished talking to him and jerry adams and all part of this extraordinary process and airing some interviews throughout the day and the special next week. >> yes, later on the show this morning hearing from the

interviews a little bit from president biden and president clinton and hillary clinton. also talking about the news of the day. so let's get to that another american community is in mourning this morning following a deadly mass shooting it is a daily occurrence it is normality now. four people were killed and 28, 28 others injured during a 16th birthday party in alabama saturday night at a dance studio in downtown dadeville. among those killed is a high school senior who planned to play college football and celebrating his sister's birthday police are tight lipped about the shooting and are asking residents to come forward with information. it is not known right now if the suspect is in custody or what led up to the attack president biden released a statement expressing his semp

thinks and frustrations writing in part quote this is outrageous and unacceptable americans agree and want lawmakers to act on common sense gun safety reforms this past week americans saw national republican elected leaders stand with the nra in a race to the bottom on dangerous laws that further erode laws republican congresswoman mace of north carolina is criticizing the party's inaction. >> republicans can no longer be silent on this issue there are plenty of things to do besides prayers and silence. an amber alert to let the community know there's a shooting

strengthening the background checks is something americans support. hardening the churches, schools and synagogues so when a potential mass shooter enters a place there's bullet-proof doors and windows. those kind of common sense things are things that every american can get behind but yet every time there's a mass shooting and increasing every week and year we don't say anything we hope that it goes away. it is not going away. >> the congresswoman is seeing the big picture. what most americans are feeling and yet republicans stay focused on the base. >> they do and it is a shrinking base even in the republican party. the overwhelming majority of nra members and majority of republicans, overwhelming majority of americans, almost

90% of americans support universal background checks. maybe over 80% of americans support national red flag laws one measure after another if you put it up for a vote in any state like colorado did, as bill clinton was saying earlier, colorado in 2000 had a referendum on i believe universal background checks the year that george bush easily won that state it passed overwhelmingly the last thing that any extremist on gun issue wants would be for states like florida, wisconsin to have a voters' referendum on universal background check if there is on background checks it would pass in all 50 states which shows you why republicans on abortion, guns, the issues

they have taken such extreme positions on, not just the second amendment we support the second amendment. we always have we supported the decision in heller and americans to protect the family and own guns but they have taken an extreme position they are so out of step with the overwhelming majority of americans. >> exactly right this is not the republican base here this is a faction within the base both on abortion and on guns i remember back in wisconsin the nra was pushing for a concealed carry without permits or background checks. crazy idea i opened up the phones the overwhelming majority of gun owners, republicans, said yes. this is crazy. we don't have to go along with

the extreme steps. the republican party is allowing itself to be held hostage by a faction within a faction the loudest most extreme versions of all of these issues and they are trapped because over the years they have given the veto power to the folks like nra. the shooting and the pictures from the nra convention with small children handling guns, are we so numb we don't think how outrageous this is reuters photographer with guns in the hands and you listen to the politicians at the nra not one republican suggested a moderation or compromise on this issue. none. >> it is absolutely frightening.

i couldn't believe my eyes joe spoke with former president clinton about these issues >> you were president when columbine happened and at the time, obviously we were all horrified but almost thought of that as a one off that's now become a regular occurrence we grew up in a culture we went to church with everybody in the neighborhood shotguns growing up. same here. it is so extreme what do we do? >> one thing is pretty clear is whatever we do we need to do it more together. i think we need to start talking across this divide i remember when jack brooks who was a congressman from texas and

enjoyed the support of nra and tom foley the speaker of the house in washington told me when the senate put in the assaults weapons bill in the crime bill if i signed it we would lose the house. we did and they lost their seats. because of the ability of the nra to terrify people and also because we were beginning to lose touch with each other across cultural divides. it is not rational that we should have a dramatically death rate among school-aged school because of gun violence than any other country in the world people get mad about this, thoughts and prayers, but if you

believe that -- if you believe you are compelled to let kids die in order to keep your freedoms that's the way this debate is. >> reverend al, it's easy for a podcaster to talk about guns and taking an extreme position or other people publicly. may have -- to follow -- but what we have seen in the gun debate and also in the abortion debate is what happens when these issues become personal when republicans -- the day of a school shooting. talking about the madness, afraid to drop the 5-year-old children off at school then this political scuffling becomes very personal. same with abortion republicans talking to me, these

horror stories out of georgia, florida, virginia. across the country not california out of the states with the most restribtive abortion laws in america. it's becoming very personal to them, rev. i think that's what's causing the crisis in the republican party, why kansas was a political earthquake and wisconsin and so concerned about 2024. >> at the end of the day it becomes personal because it is personal when i saw the shooting over the weekend in alabama, my mother is from alabama she is buried there. i have relatives there this is perm many of them own guns. when a sweet 16 party turns into

a mass killing it is beyond the politics one of the things that must happen to sit and watch you and former president clinton who were politically opposites and tack about coming across the divide i think is significant within itself. we have got to show that we are above our particular personal politics, biases and culture and show that we are for the whole i think that interviews shows that and i hope that people understand what personal issues in the family the only way to get by this is to do it together embracing or back end into each other. >> former president alluding to how far apparent democrats and republicans and americans are on gun and abortion we are talking about women's

health, women who are miscarrying and need help. women who may die and need help. women who may need a medication that causes a termination or yes, yes, republicans, you can use the word abortion. it is a word that pertains to women's health they are so afraid to talk about it so far apparent on this issue. republican senator and potential 2024 hopeful tim scott said friday that as president he would support and sign the quote most conservative pro lifer legislation that could pass. here's what he told nbc's aly vitali on friday. >> the states have the ability to have the most conservative bills that they can get passed in the legislature i support the culture of life. >> is six weeks the right mile

marker >> the people have decided the leaders can do so. i say absolutely as the culture of life is proteched we should celebrate that states have varying views. i would sign the most skeftd pro-life legislation to get through congress. >> even if it's six weeks. >> i won't talk about six or five or seven or ten. >> this is threatening the lives of women and torturing women they are forced to carry babies that will not live. >> senator scott widely expected to carry for president signaled the same we have talked about how 2022 was. abortion front and center because of the supporter

decision and americans saying what the republicans is out of the ep senator graham talked about a national abortion ban. they saw how unpopular that was and it seems like 2024 abortion is a defining issue again. >> it is even poised now look what will happen with the supreme court and the abortion pill that is huge that is going to be seismic because most americans coming to women's health are supportive of a pill than other measures. >> the pill is used for a lot of things >> yes barely -- usually don't know you are pregnant you sneezed and you are pregnant women don't know i can't believe that the gop has become so infiltrated by big

government control radicals to tell you what medical procedure you can have to preserve your life. >> right the party that wants government to stay out is having government intervene. on the pill a statement wednesday that the fate unclear. one of the next guests the way for the gop to save itself is donald trump to win the primary and lose the general matt lewis explains that when "morning joe" comes right back

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because of his stance on abortion and book banning myself and a bunch of friends are holding the powder dry the businessman who donated nearly $8 million to republicans last year said he was quote looking forward to supporting a desantis presidential run. joe, this is one sign of perhaps some republicans seeing where america is. >> and again, mike allen, we had two completely different political worlds we had the world pre-dobbs the world that we all lived in for 49 years and then the post-roe world where even i was

surprised by the extent of the backlash kansas, i think a 19-point vi victory for pro-choice that was predicted to be 50-50 vote wisconsin last week. i talk to republicans off the record especially in the senate. they are very concerned they are battling the extremism that voters -- that independents and swing voters see in trump and guns but especially because this hits home with so many of them hearing about it at home this issue of abortion. talk about the challenge it poses ron desantis and other republicans over the next year. >> you stacked that exactly right. republicans are so concerned about how this will play and

this is an illustration of why both parties are losing normal america. axios is up with new data from gallup showing that the most americans in all the time that they have been polling now say they are independent 49% of americans say they are independent. each party has 25% why is that? because for more and more americans are the parties are not doing what they wanted gallup explained to me what is driving this is young people were independent and picked a party and now they are staying independent so the parties are losing market share and republicans in particular know that this abortion issue is a long term problem. governor desantis signed that bill, tweeted the picture at 11:06 p.m. just before midnight

opposed to doing an event about it sure could help him in republican primaries but not in new hampshire. the team knows what an issue that could be in a general election if he gets there. >> charlie sykes, i love that framing by jim vandehyde normal america i would look around at everybody in congress. nobody outside of this chamber cares right now. that's the abnormal america. these political extremes also so abnormal what's strange is think about it a year ago republicans were attacking democrats for obsessing over cultural issues and not focusing on inflation, the southern border, gas prices.

now a year later and the republicans obsessing on extreme gun issues, abortions which used to help them with the base and even with some independent voters it is having an opposite impact. it's happened quickly. >> yeah. you left out the obsession with drag queen story hour and banning books. the remarkable thing about the abortion question listening to senator scott is the pro-life movement had 50 years to prepare for this moment, to create a narrative to figure out what will we do if we catch this car. how can we make ourselves look like we care about life. what is the position on abortion pills and a national ban

they are caught so unprepared. you can see that with ron desantis on the bill and senator tim scott who you would have thought would have given thought to these questions it is all culture war all the time from the republican party we have talked about this before i'm being assured as you are that the normies constitute the republican party the problem is the normies continue to empower the crazies and continue to look the other way and let the most extreme voices in the party set the agenda the republican party will never look normie until the normals assert themselves and we haven't seen that on this issue with the

confusion. >> look at the polls it is costing them what a great point that republicans have had 49 year years to prepare for the post-ro world. they are flat footed and losing independents, women, educated voters, the swing voters they need for 2024. they wanted to get rid of obamacare and replace it with something else that is in 2009. they have done absolutely nothing. here we are in 2023. they have no solution. just say no. jonathan lemire, you know what everybody here other than the peace agreement what everybody had to be talking about, right >> of course

hard to top that international news we know what they were talking about, joe. >> of course the striking out of ohtani you take out -- to the mound so seriously, a collective roar went up. red sox three-game winning streak it is early. get the world series tickets now. >> warm up the duck boats. we need a championship parade. three in a row journeyman reliever somehow gets them both out. >> okay. >> today is patriots day in boston boston marathon and the 11:00 a.m. red sox game. >> thank you charlie and mike, thank you both

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before president biden left ireland on friday he toured the roman catholic pilgrim and site in county mayo and met with the chaplain that delivered the last rites for his son beau who died of cancer in 2015. joe asked the president what that moment meant to him >> you went to the hospice center that was dedicated to beau i'm wondering what did that mean

to you to go back and be there. >> you know, beau and hunter and i talked after i stop being vice president about -- we'll go to ireland one day. i always wanted beau to be there. and we started off with the shrine down -- blessed mother. we were with the priest showing us he said, by the way, the priest who gave the military chaplain who gave your son last rites which is the catholic version is here somewhere and sure enough 15 minutes later the priest showed up who hunter biden spent days with bringing the priest in to talk to beau. and he showed up and he reminded us of talking to beau and how proud he was of

beau i know it sounds stupid. i wish -- hate to say it i felt like beau was with me completed the circle, joe. i know that sound stupid maybe but i felt like that my sister valerie and hunter, we felt like beau is with us. >> wow must have been an incredible moment tell us more that is so moving and a chance meeting. >> it was a chance meeting again, they were visiting the who is pit center, a plaque dedicated to the memory to beau biden. and it was an emotional moment not only for the president but also the family. a few of them recounting it with tears in their eyes but the entire trip was really something for the president.

i think every president should come to ireland to be revived. john kennedy's favorite trip ronald reagan loved it bill clinton been here five, six, seven times same with hillary clinton been here time and time again it does seem to revive them. let's bring in "morning joe" economic analyst steve ratner. i want to talk to you about this the past few days about northern ireland and the economic channels but first we need to talk about what warren buffett said on friday expect more banks to collapse. seems to be a deep unease on wall street and really with investors in local regional banks why what do you make of his comments and prediction?

>> buffett said he sold almost all the bank stock. >> not good. >> money talks he is down on the banking industry the small regional banks are losing deposits to the big bankings and the incentive problem is wrong they have an incentive to take risk like what happened in '08 and the worst that happens is lose the jobs. the best is that the banks do well he thinks we need to do some stuff to fix >> why would anybody invest in regional banks right now with the problems with first republic why would anybody not be

concerned agent the money in regional banks >> as an investor? >> and as a depositor. >> you are ensured up to $250,000 we said after the failure of silicon valley bank. you have the big banks report earnings last friday they're off the charts great. >> talk about northern island. there is over the past year and a half a 25-year celebration to do with the past year and a half of a dysfunctional government. brexit made things complicated here what is the problem? will they fix it >> it's ironic with the negotiations over brexit the harder problem is northern island and since the uk getting out of

brexit they would get out with it and requiring a hard border and nobody in irmd really wanted went on for a long time and reached agreement for a soft border which some goods would be checked, local goods not checked. but the consequence of that is the protestant party not happy with it refused to participate in the government. >> shut down. >> as you said so that is still a work in progress. >> and finally, let's talk about britain in general the economy really struggling right now. why? >> the economy is struggling before brexit and has a problem of low productivity and investment and something of a recession now with a bit to do with brexit. i was a reporter in britain in

early 1980s with thatcher -- >> you covered the problems. >> yes the famous hotel where the clintons are staying was surrounded by barbed wire. so the problems of britain are structural exacerbated by brexit and remind me of the '80s. they have had a number of governments in a short period of time and need stability. >> really do all right. steve, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> what do we have coming up the final curb tin call of broadway's longest running production andrew lloyd weber joins us. first performance 1988 "morning joe" is back in a moment

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the defamation trial between dominion voting systems and fox news has been delayed by at least one day. the judge in the case announced last night that jury selection and opening statements will be tomorrow instead of today. the judge didn't provide a reason for this but is expected to make an announcement about the change later this morning. two sources tell "the washington post" the delay is to allow both parties time to hold conversations about the possibility of a settlement. if a settlement is not reached opening statements begin tomorrow in the case around whether fox news talent and executives knowingly misled

their audience about the integrity of the 2020 election and do min non's role in it. we will continue to follow the case as its happens. now the annual state of black america report from the national urban league uses data and analytics to lay out issues in the country to black citizens the report details a wide variety of threats from law enforcement to legislatures and newly passed laws to education restrictions and the growth of book bans. the report also talks about the rise in hate crimes in the country. according to a preliminary report from the center for study of hate and extremism crimes in country. according to a report from california state university in san bernardino, hate crimes increased by 44% in 2021 joining us now to break it all

down,ok mark morial. >> good morning to you÷■ >> it's great to have you. let's start, though, with that data on hate crimes and why all this work is so important, because things are not getting better. >> mika, this report really dove tai8#á into what you have been talking about all morning. that is the philosophy of extremism, the doctrine of white supremacy infecting mainstream politics how is it affecting public policy decisions hundreds of bills have been introduced just since january 1 of this year to continue this campaign of voter suppression. another 500 piecesq■ of

legislation have been introduced in statest1■ç■across the nationo suppress, sensor, restrict the teaching of african-american r history, black history and structural racism. and the fbi is noting that many of these right wing far-right militia groups have active relationships with law enforcement.(7 threat it's a wakeup call to all that we've got to fight it. it affects black americans most deeply, but it affectsq■ all americans because it is destabilizing to american democracy. >> absolutely. it's not just hate crimes that are random it's hate embedded in our political system. >> the urban league always gives an annual report for them to go from just economic data to this, i think,

is significant when you came to our conference at national action network with other legacy organizations talking about this, the other thing that is different is thatn greenblatt and others to have a conference it is a real heightened problem that is not just one group.ç it'st■ any non-white group ande■ it's at an emergency level. >> we have project code. >> this in the voter suppression front can be stopped by the congress of the united states. all they havexd■to do is pass t john lewis freedom to vote act on the history front, we must

understand this country3w■ could descend into a period of the age of darkness, anti-intellectualism. >> anti-history. >> black history today.ñ what's tomorrow? we're going to fightn■■■it with every fiber. >> atçó■the beginning of the trp presidency, i remember a member of the family saying we don't have to look at history, we don't need to care about it. i remember that being striking to me. it was sort of like a blink moment?l3■i■where i thought thi going to be the way things are going withi■ their message.fáq >> we're seeing the impact of classrooms with books beingxd■ banned, with different philosophies being obscured, with fundamental parts of american history refused to be taught whatf■q■ impact are you seeing

>> it has spurred a backlash we're goinge1 to launch a freed to learn campaign in may withqa broad array of academics, scholars, intellectuals, legacy organizations behind it. all of a sudden politicians wan■ to make education policy this is note1 educators. this is not teachers these are politicians who don't effectively fund education, who now want to interfere in what's taught it's dangerous because it's inconsistent withe1 the first amendmentñr■ó■and it's inconsis with the free exercise of thought tha4ñ■ is a time honored american tradition we've got to fight it. we cannot allow it to be normalized my concern is the normalization■

of extremism ces shortcomings of our country is black women's mortality rate, the infant mortality rate. how do the restrictions impact them >> it impacts their right to their health and the right to make choices about their own body it's seencas an attack on people's right to make individual decisions we know that many of the challenges of maternal health strike at black women and black families most deeply we need every tool, every medicine, every safee■ therapy our disposal to try to address that

the extremism is in thatq■ arena as well. it's affecting publicr decisions quite deeply we need a coalition of the willing, able and committed too■ resist it. tomorrow we'll be at moore house college with young students there in the atlanta university center to have a panel discussionf■ at an official eve releasing this report. those of you in atlanta, come see us.e if not, check us out online. the report is available online to each and everyone we want to spur conversation and a decision and a callq(■to acti. >> president and ceo of the national urban league. >> thank you so much. >> mark muriel, thank you very

much. coming up, who would democrats rather face in 2024, donald trump oj■p ron desantis nbc's sahil kapur has been digging into that.

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50% off?! that deal's so good we don't even need an eight-time all-star to tell you about it. wait what? get it before it's gone on the subway app! it's early in l.a. 6:00 a.m. on the west coast,ñ■ 9:00 a.m. in the east. it's the fourth hour of "morning joe. any minute now the republican-led house judiciary committee is set to begin a field hearing in new york city to discuss, quote, victims of violent crime in manhattan this is donald trump allies in the house looking to discredit the new york city district attorney leading the criminal prosecution against the former

president in the state with new york city mayor eric adams about the republicans flocking toçó■his city.q >> it is the highest level of hypocrisy. we know cities across america are dealing with issues around public safety. while crime is going down,ç■ homicides are going down, some of the major crimes are trending in the right direction i think coming here and highlighting d.a. bragg is really a political stunt. >> let's bring in nbc news capitol hill correspondent ryan nobles who is following today's hearing in manhattan what do they plan to do? >> reporter: the way this is going to work today is that the house republicans are going to bring in a group of people who they describe as victims of violent crime here in new york city.f they're going to talk to a bodega clerk and a few other

people and they're going to highlight what they believe is a real problem here in manhattan that is distracting from the overall goal in trying to make thm[■■i■city safer in that the prosecution of donald trump is we see a back and forth between republicans and democrats this morning trying to set the narrative i■really democrats view today's hearing as a waste of time and money they say it's not going to solve any of the problems republicans are talking about. furthermore, they argue that the real issue with crime in not just new york city, but in manya prevalence of guns and many of these guns are purchased in states outside of new york city and brought into the city. we just leftç■ a press conferen■ a few minutes ago that the ranking member jerry nadler led where they touched on axd■d■lotf these issues nadler made it very clear. he said this'■■■isn't evenx■ a d hearing in the traditional sense. it's not a factñr■3■k finding m.

he describes it as nothing more■ than a political stunt to provide donald trump cover and try andg the district attorney al svin br bragg.j■ democrats could have just allowed the republicans to come here without any response. instead, they chosee1 to participate. adam schiff and others are going to participate in this hearing they're goingñi■to push back they're not just going toe1 all this narrative to play itself out. you saw jim jordan tweet out a video this morning to show that new york city has a crime problem in trying to balance both of those things as they try as nadler provided an honest assessment to say this is to provide donald trump cover as he faces 34 criminal indictments

here in new york city. >> we know d.a. bragg was not invited to attend this hearing, but certainly it has been an almost unprecedented assault from the house gop on his office in trying to interrupt his prosecution of the former president. will we hear that fromi■ democrs today as well, beyond rebutting the crimes in the new york city, will there be a defense of d.a. bragg? >> it's almost as though republicans are going to try and ì(■% they don't want this to at least appear as political cover for donald trump i'd be very surprised if the former president's indictment comes up, at least from republicans. they really want to make the argument here there is a crime problem that is separate from the donald trump indictment and that's whatw3■alvin bragg should be focused on right now. it's interesting to point out that mayor adams said he was not invited to participate this this

particular hearing you would think the mayor of new york city who ran on a platform that was in part to try and help the crime problem in new york city would be one of the key witnesses. he was not invited to r there is a backdropñr■here about this push and pull between house republicans and the work of!u■ e manhattan district attorney's office i think it's safe to say that it's unprecedented the way we see them trying to intervene in a local prosecution and argueçó■ there's some sort of federal oversight over a local prosecuto prosecutor's office. that's not something congress traditionally does the narrow opening they're there is federal money used byct the manhattan district attorney's office and as a result they have oversight responsibilities but there's a pending lawsuit right now from the district attorney's office trying to prevent that from moving forward, trying to prevent this house committee from issuing subpoenas andfá making good on y

just beginning and what we're seeing here today is the next stage of that fight. >> it's interesting that if they are trying to say they're looking at the high levels of crime, which by the way has been going down, but if they're looking at that in manhattanw■ county, how can they look at what the d.a.'s office is doing or not doing around prosecuting nh$■e crimes, because the d.a. is notq■"■á■ p),ñ■they're the prosecutors.t■ç■@&h(lc how can they weigh whether they're aggressive enoufn■if they don't have the d.a. or someone there the d.a.'s office there to present the evidence of what they are doing? and, secondly, are they suggesting when they say we need to be dealing more with violente crime even though they don't have a witness there to say how they're dealing with violent crime, are they saying the d.a.'s office should not be

prosecuting people for falsifying business records and everyone on wall street should do what they want to do and not be prosecuted? thee1 suggestion is we shoulde1 therefore be doing this and let criminals that falsify business records, we should let them go that's low priority. >> they'ree■ not explicitlyr that, but i think their actions speak louder than words in a the focus ofñ■ someone like congressman jordan and his fellow republicans is not about% these white collar criminals they don't seem to put that as high a priority as they do these other crimes they've been specifically honed in on i think what their effort here today isç■ to kind of put ae narrative around it by listening

to specific victims who feeld■: be dealt with. one of the participatesw3■in the hearing today will be a democratic member of the city council who believes they need to address this particular situation inr the city this is a back and forth that's going to continue between both sides. u■ro kind of make a finer u■ro that they are speaking to a specific audience here it's not necessarily all americans. you know, house republicans have very specific constituents they're speaking to and that's part of what they're presenting here fát(■oday. >> absolutely. ryanñ■ nobles, thank you very much. we turn to what was a busy weekend in presidential politics starting with former secretary of state mike pompeo, who has made the decision not to run for president in 2024. pompeo said on friday he doesn't believe it's the right timefá f

him to seekt(■elected office even while he was in the donald trump administration, the secretary of state wase■ visiti kansas, iowa.2 i always thought it was kind of■ interesting. >> such a shame. perhaps his efforts could have been more well spent focusing on his dutiese■ as an international statesman rather thanxd■iowa now where's his .001% going to go that's the question. >> he's been running he was running while he was secretary of state.ç he was running since trump left office he's now realized he can't win this is a moment where the former secretary of state clearly had hisxd■r■eyes on the white house and geared up towards it and it's another bow to recognition thati] there's no space for a lane without donald trump. this is how former vice president mike pence was received at the annual nra

meeting in indianapolis on friday. >> hello, nra! [ crowd reacts ] >> i love youok too. >> it's a big news story you've made news today i don't know what you did, but you made news today with the introduction you gave. >> former president trump relishing in pence's lukewarmxd■ reception. that was low energy. he was like lying on the podium just like what am i going to talk about and decided to laugh at that. his speeches are different, have you noticed? >> very sad. >> there's just like a tone. it's repetitive and angry. ren i mean, my god anyhow, meanwhile a super pac ■igned with florida governor ron desantis has released a new tv ad criticizing,rmer

take a yazñ■ook. >> donald trump is beingx■ attacked by a democrat prosecutor in new york why is he spending millions attacking the republican governor of florida? trump's stealing pages from the biden/pelosi playbook, repeating lies about social security hg ron desantis. >> we're not going to mess with social security. >> at some point we will take a look at that. >> what happened to donald trump? >> wow that ad debuted yesterday during a commercialt■/s break on fox ns sunday in perhaps the clearest sign that desantis could be preparing to jump into the white house race.ñ and georgia governor brian kemp, who easily overcame a primary challenge from a trump-backed opponent on route to reelection last year is warning hisr that focusing on the past is not the way to win the future. listen to him giving ae ing adv

the gop while trying to avoid >> you also said, q:-■e, not a single swing voter will vote for our nominee if they choose to talk about the 2020 election being stolen, unquote. do you think donald trump is unelectable on a nationwide scale? would it be a mistake for the republican voters to nominate w■ him? >> well, that's for the people to decide. if we get distracted and talk about other things the democrats want to talk about, like thesep■ investigations, regardless of what you think about the politics of those,ç■ if we get distracted and let the media just talk about that,w3■that on helps joe biden. it does not give a path for republicans to win. sah longwell and matt lewis. matt's latest piece isç■h■■■entd "the gop can save itself if

trump runs then loses the election." you're saying it'sx■ better for the gop if he wins the nomination and losesh■■■the ç■ general. >> no. people thought that, mika. i've taken a lot offá backlash twitter. i'm not rooting for trump to win the nomination. ypeyñ■know. >> it would be better if ron desantis was the nominee i would support tim scottjf or nikki haley as a conservative. i think donald trump will be the nominee. so based on that, who knows we've got an entf" campaign to ç run, but we're starting to see the writing on the wall. it's starting to feel that donald trump is obviously the clear fronte1 runner with that in mind, if the goal is to get rid oft■/s trumpism, m looking for a little bit of silver lining. içó■do think political parties ■

not change until they have to. they have to endure multiple losses and thosex■ losses have be decisive. i'm hoping that the purpose of this was to calm myself a little as i'm going through the different stages of grief, accepting that donald trump is likely to be the nominee again there could be something good that comes from it if he were to lose decisively. >> understood. for the long view, it ultimately is like the republican party finally understanding that he's a losing proposition andq■ it m take that. i understand sarah, your team held a focus group with two-time trumpers the day after he was indicted by aa manhattan grand jury they were asked for their thoughts on the indictment and whether they were more or less likely to vote for him a third time let's take a listen. >> for those of you that have heard about it, tell me what

you've heard, what you know. li reading a lot, it's forqan item that something that he's done that wasn't illegal. if it was illegal, it was past the statuteú'■ limitations and it was something that the federal government didn't even want to deal with, but the state does from everything i've read, it's■ pretty obvious to me and i'm pretty firm onj■ this in my opinion that this was totally politically ç■motivated. >> as soon as i heard the news, i felt like i'm supporting him even more, just forok the fact that i don't like what's happeningçó■for political persecution of someone it could be any of us. if they can do it to trump, where he can defend himself, i can only imagine how it would be if it was just a normal person.

>> she said it qerfectly that's what i thought too. if they can do it to him, which he has the power, the money and he can defend himself, what would happe■eto us >> if they're going to go after trump for something decades ago, they may as well all turn themselves in. >> do you think it's going to make you support trump more or the same >> it's totally more. >> why >> um, i don't know. i just feele1 like it's not fai um, and he's definitely a target it'sv ridiculous it really is ridiculous. >> wow revealing and important, because it does show three times voting for trump given everything, it does show in some ways -- i want to be really careful here, but has a lot to doçó■with other

things that are happening, even the fox lawsuit. sort of pervade our society with a fireç■ hose of falsehoods. there are people who will double down and triple down, aoh■their premises are based on trump'sçó■ lies >> yes so i call this the rally round trump effect, where voters feel like -- and you can hear it. trump saysx■ this, his surrogat say this, this idea if they can do this to trump, they cano■ do this to you. over the years voters have developed this relationship wit■ trump where they feel like he is their weapon, their hammer to go after their enemies. that's why he says things x■lik i am your retribution.

i think what the indictments do■ is it allows him to have a new grievance. he's been locked in the grievex■ an of the 2020 election thw■ñ■ problem now ist/at his competitors in the republican primary are also doing this.ç■ ron desantis is rushing to his aid, nikki haley is coming to his aid. they're all condemning these indictments. that creates a new dynamic where these 2024 challengers alle■ become sort of supportingjf characters in the central drama of donald trump, whichq■ means we're all talking about him all the time, he sucks up all thelp oxygen this is how he becomes the fron■ runner and why he's so difficult to beat. i was watching that clip with governor kemp. he wouldn't even say trump's name he wouldn't come outx■ and condn

trump. until the republican partyç■ starts to condemn donald trump, there's going to be they're all ceding this election to him, which is aj■huge catastrophic mistake. >> sarah makes such a good point. it's not just the indictments and the way trump has ralli■ied his base, but he's been able to neuter some of the attacks against him. he's able to silence some of those would beó■■■rivals of hish need to come up with some way to distinguish themselves from him if they're going to beat him to be the s7■nominee. what can they do is there a candidate in the republican field who hasx■ the ability to go after trump? if so, how do you defeat him from within? >> i don't think there is, to be honest with you. that's why they play the game. who knows how the campaign willq

shake out. i think a lot of us were kind of hoping it would be ron desantis. the reason we werex■ñ■ hoping tt is we saw what he did in florida. he seemed to have a commanding a compelling argument. he's got a generational change arg argument he's got theo■ argument he is d he can execute the culture war in a more competent manner desantis, there was a hope he would rise to the occasion, but two weeks has done two things. one, we have seen that ron desantis is not great so far het■ isi] not thisç■ great magil hope we thought he might bexfo it's notr in florida, he kind ofe■ contro everything he controls the stage. he can look tough and commanding he doesn't quite have that same■ charisma the other thing, of course, is the indictment of d).ñ■rump, which i think really propelled

him to having a new argument i think there is a rally round trump effect if it subsides, there's going to be two or three other indictments that will likely boost trump, at least in the short term within the realm of possibility that tim scott, that the public all of a sudden wants an optimistic happy warrior, it's possible, but i think obviously the smart money is and has long been on donald trump. >> sarah, you do a lot of these groups over the course of many years, could you talk a little bit about the shift in whatjf you heard from the strong trump supporters beforeok the indictmt and then after in the context of how they saw otherx■o■ candidat? >> so for a long time now since the january 6thw3■hearings, but then really after the 2022

elñ>q%=91■ there was this real acceleration and interest in moving on from trump i've been on this program before talking about thew3■k fact that there was an appetite from a chunk of the party's voters that they thought trump had too much baggage to be electable. and they saw ron desantis to be trump without the baggage. two things have happenede■ recently we're watching ron desantisw3■n be a particularly compelling candidate. also, the other thing i'm seeing in the groups is that as trump begins to attackú■< some of those attacks are seeping into the language and the way these voters are talking about desantis they say desantis feels a little establishment, a little swampy.t they're not sure they can trust him. this is justk■■■t■ an overall sn the republican party where there's a lot of candidates who forge their identities before donald trump was on the scene,

nikki haley, mike pence, mike pompeo, tim scott. voters don't want those candidates that's just what i hear from them they want people who have a sort of post trump vision.j ron desantis was one of the few who seems like a post trump kind of candidate whose identity was forged during donald trump's candidacy, but they wanted to see him be like trump. if trump is alpha-ing him the way he's been the last two weekst■■ why take trump without the baggage when you can get the straight-up o.g. version ofe1 trump. >> see those donors backing away.f thank you both very much for being on this morning. house speaker kevin mccarthy willf■e■ speakj■ at the new york exchange later this morning. he's expected to focus on the approaching debt limit.q let's bring in andrew ross

sorkin >> this is actually going to be a remarkable moment, becauset■ about financial issues while the stock market is open and in this case on the floor of the stock exchange kevin mccarthy trying to take a page out of the book of ronald reagan, who also spoke ine1 1985 from the therfloor of the stock exchange about the increasing debt in the united states. he doesn't do that while the stock market was open. there are somew■ questions about what he's going to say and how responsible or not it is to be speaking with the market's open. the goal is to make his argument hoping so many of the investment community is going to get on the phone with folks they donate to in washington and say, you've got support and you should

continue to press the issue of the debt ceiling.?;■ of course, democrats on the other side think thew■ debt ceiling should be something that's passed andñi■should not held hostage/$ through. >> thank you very much for being on this morning. coming up on "morning joe," another mass shooting in america, this time alabama four people were killed during a teena+'s birthday party and 28 injured.

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the nra held its annual convention in which north dakota governorx■e■ kristi noemo■ spok >> the media would have your believe that the nra is only made up of old white guys. there's a lot of dive-3iá■ in the t■nra. i may be a mom and a grandma, but i am the nra >> just an oscar winning edit right there. nothinge1 undermines her point

the diversity in that crowd is between antiques roadshow ande1■ "friends" reunion. alabama police are seeking information from the public after a shooting at a sweet 16 birthday party on saturday that's when the nra was having their convention. >> during the nra convention. >> four dead, 28 injured. >> in alabama. this is a red t■state, which is basically a state that has a lot of nra members they are out there advocating don't do anything in terms of gun laws more troubling, they have little children at the nra taking guns and pointing ate1 people and taking pictures of this like this is how we should be raising americans today. >> meanwhile, another slaughter

under way as they are doing that priscilla thompson has the latest. >> reporter: this morning, a community is reeling after unthinkable tragedy at a sweet 16. >> oh my god >> re h(ee killed and at least 28 injured at the birthday celebration saturday the party's deejay saying the shots rang out he tried to protect as many teenagers as he could, shielding them as others fled for the exit according to family members, a star on the high school footbalv team was a victim, he was planning to play at jacksonville state next year. >> he got this huge smile. he got a heart heig humble. he's au■■■grandmother's boy. >> reporter: the townr dadeville, alabama, is in shock. did you ever think that wouldok

happen here? >> no ma'am. not in a million years everybody knows each other, everybody loves each other. >> reporter: officials giving no word on possible suspects or motive and asking the community for any leads. the tiny alabama community not the only one to be rocked by gun violence this weekend. two were killed and four injured in a park shooting in louisville saturday less than a week after another mass shooting at a bank there killed five. president biden calling the seemingly endless wave of shootingsr unacceptable andñ■ asking congrs toe■ pass gun safety reform. in dadeville, an emotional vigil included many students >> it's hard me and him were very, very close. itñ■r

>> as one state endures yet anotherfá horrific mass shootin another is working to prevent gun violence.q michigan governor gretchen whitmer signed into law twoçó■n gun safety measures. checks for all firgs$■■■purr chairs the second, safe storage law for all firearms in the state. whitmer also said she would sign a bill supporting red flag laws. the new legislation comes after the mass shooting ate■ michigan state university in february and the mass shooting at oxford high school in 2021 joining us now,e1 democratic senator from michigan. thank you so much for coming on the show this morning. i know you have said that you're ready to work with republicans my worry is, are we there yet? are weç■ at the point where5a■ should throw everything against the wall i know that sounds scary to gun owners and nra members

but are we at the point where we're enduringñi■a national epidemic of mass shootings.q >> it's great to be with you again.w■ i share your sense of outrage and desperation and panic about what is next after a birthday party.ç■ i will tell you that i'm so proud of our governor and our new democratic state legislature in michigan, because two weeks after the horror at michigan state they were holdingt(■hearis on gun safety. within a month, they were acting it's all about political will and it's only because people voted in michigan and changed the legislature that we got anything done. for me,r things that we have gotten done in the midst of children dying in thex■ past. in the '80s i was a young state representative, my daughter was a toddler. i reached out to our state

senator who was afá republican d whose daughter wasn■np&■o a toddler. this is at a time where children were literally being thrown out of vehicles and dying every day. the number on■k causur of death for children was car accidents we're like, something's got to be done. so we put in legislation to mandate that you had to have children in a car seat to have them in a car. you can imagine what the pushback was, the idea of oh my gosh, you're going to tell parents what to do and make them buy car seats. it was a çó■1fight, but law enforcement and the community and parents got engaged and we c finally got it done. this is that same moment what can we do well, let's take one page from last summer. we passed an extended backgroun■ check for somebody under age 21 to purchase a gun. what has happened since then is

a ten-day waiting period, you have tor records and mental health records and so on. we know at least 119 gun purchases have beene1 stopped. nobody stopped hunting, nobody stopped protecting themselves in their home, nobody was affected by this. so for us nationally, i think we need to look at those things we're going to have to do it point by point trying to get as many republicans as we can it won't come from us. co. >> i don't know if there's the time, though there's thisr assault weapons which many americans don't understand and would agree that nobody needs these weapons of war number two, we have situations where police are outgunned, so they have the choice play out in realtime we've seen where police are

afraid to go inw3■and rightfully thd we've seen police run into it and thankfully in maybe one case the shooter is reloading and they get a chance at the shooter. in other cases, the cop gets shot because they're outgunned so we're sitting herefá talking about this or that and i think red flag laws are a great idea, but wee■ need everything joe ands after a e■shooting you know what? honestly, i don't remember what shooting it was, because there are so many, but it was at a school.xd■ this father came up to us and said after this one we've decided it took the police 3 minutes to get there well, we're all going to get guns because we're closer to the school than them and we're going to goe1 in there and get our ki. we've got parents now trying to figure out what they do when they send theirt(■kids to school bñumñ■hey'rej■ scared of it

happening and they're thinking of arming themselves what can be done to penetrate this "they want to take my guns" mindset? >> right you're right i can tell you as a grandparent of five children in public schools in michigan, i feel that panic and horror every dayç■ alg with everybody else. this is going to come from real people this is going to come from every parent who feels like that going to their electedi■ officials and either their elected officials will step upo■ and do something di"tto vote them out the idea of saying waitç?$u'til the next election is note■ something we shod be doing we don't have time to wait for the next election. but it is going to take everybody deciding that enough is enough in everyh■■■state, red states, blue states, everywhere. what we saw at the nra

convention which has always been about gun manufacturers and their profits. they now have this mind meld with the most extreme, radical racist elements of our country being urged on we have to start locally start wherever you can start if you're in a chamber of commerce, get them involved. whatever you are doing, this is an all hands on deck moment. we can't sustain this. peoplee■ say this isn't who we are. you know what, right now it is who we are it's ridiculous. i went through a huge fight way back in the '80s about mandating %ñ s i saw what happened when everybody did an all hands on deck moment. that's what we need.

i'll work with anybody, any time, anywhere >> thank you very f■much.t we appreciate it. senatorñ(■mitch mcconnell an john fettermani■ will retu%■ñ■to the senate today mcconnell was out due to a head injury and ae■ fractured rib whe fetterman was in the hospital ]0 senator dianne feinstein of california is still on leave, recovering from shingles democrats are looking to temporarily replace her on the judiciary committee, but that move is expected to face pushback from republicans.x■ let's bringçó■in sahil kapur li on capitol hill with the latest. dianne feinstein plans to come back, right? >> reporter: we have no timetableir a return for senator feinstein yet. that's part of what is causing all this democratic angst.

senate judiciary committee without her, democrats can't advance president biden's judicial nominees. they need unanimous consent to replace her speedily republicans are already suggesting they're going to stand in the way of that let's show what else is on the agenda when congress returns today after a two-week recess. they'll beç■ voting on executive branch nominees for the e■ pentagon, the justice department there will beçó■a senate briefi on classified documents regarding ukraine. the president's nominee for labor secretary is going to have a confirmation hearing later this week. in the republican-led house they will be holding a vote to disapprove of d.c.'s actions on policing, another one on transgender r republicans are going to be trying to prepare a debt limit bill now that biden and democrats are saying no policy

add-ones to raising the debt limit, allowing the u.s. to meet itsñr■obligationst(■3■ttached. >> one of ourfá themes this morning was some of the weaknesses emerging in governor bid. we certainly know donald trump'■ liabilities. you spoke tol■ someq(■democrati■ strategists who theyx■ think wod be af■ better match for preside biden? >> there's an interesting division emerging among democratic strategists there's no reale1 consensus as who they believe would be an easier candidate to face in the general between former president trump and ron desantis

they've beaten trump before. they believe he has alienated swing voters, especially suburban women and done little, if anything, to win theme■ back. with ron desantis, if you asked democrats around november or december, manyç■ of them would have seen him as the stronger candidate.ç■ lately, that's not really the case many democrats look at him taking punch after punch from donald trump not really standing ájç■v■ñ■ back it makes them wonder if he's ready for the national stage some democrats think desantis is less likable, less effective at retail politics. he has a recordz6$j■ social security and medicare dating back toi] his time in congress that democrats think would be easy to run against. and the fact that he just signed a six-week abortion ban makes him no more moderatef■w■ than dd

trump. the case was made for running against trump. they have a playbook, they've beaten him before, they can do it again there's a democraticl■ strategi who believes that desantis would not be able to mobilize5?■ the n dti p!le to do when he'se■ on t ballot how is this for a headline romance novel cover model who o january 6th sentencedei■u■t■ the y■oáj■in prison. yikes. loganñr■barnhart a former body builder and romance novel cover model was sentenced 4■ñ■three years in prison thursday for dragging a police officer down the stairs of the capitol on january 6th. barnhart pleaded guilty in september to assaulting, resisting or impeding certain

officers, using a dangerous weapon social media sleuths were able to id barnhart after finding old pictures of him back w a body builder they confirmed his identity by finding online posts of him wearingr sweatshirt he responded to former president trump ahead of the capitol riot■ saying, quote, i'll be there after his e■sentencing, barnhart told nbc news he's moving away from politics because he thinks there's a lot more to life than■ politics andq■ being on social media. he also reiterated an apology he wrote in a letter toq■he officer. coming up, phantom of the broadway last night more than 3 years after the very first show. we'll be joinedok by andrew llo

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inside your mind is now the only place you might be able to see phantom. last night the show ended its historic 35-year broadway run. joining us now, the show's legendary composer, tony, grammy and academy award winner sir andrew lloyd webber. we thank you so much for being here let's give the viewers a sense of inside your mind.

you're in the middle of this incredible moment after such a long run you have a piece in "the new york times" online about sort of the economics of broadway and we'll talk about that. first, just to point out that you're at an incredible moment in your life, where you're mourning the loss of your sonic las. >> yes it's a difficult one for me in many ways. phantom, you know, we thought it would go out with a bit of a bang, but we didn't think it would go out with quite the bang it did quite frankly, i think it could have just run off. what had happened is that last year my children are all very much on social media, tiktok and all that they said, dad, your marketing is in the dark ages and they

sort of took over. so it was number one on halloween on tiktok which, of course, i don't really know too much about tiktok. apparently a huge deal suddenly you have a perfect storm really of closing, but then all the young finding it again. so that's what's behind it all in london where it's still playing, it did its record week last week. >> incredible. >> extraordinary. >> it's part of new york city. the city is not going to be the same. >> the way i always look at these things is i take instruction from the phantom i don't know if he's as pleased to be evicted from new york. he likes the place a lot i'm on tentacles for some instruction. >> i tend to agree with you. maybe something will happen. >> you're so prolific, just to have had more hits than i feel like anyone in history

>> i don't think so. >> if not, you're right up there. but when you wrote "phantom of the opera" and when it started, before it went on stage but was in the formulation -- during rehearsals, before it went in front of an audience, did you have a feeling that you had hit it, that you had captured it >> i don't think so. when you sit down to write a musical, you don't think, gosh, is it going to be a huge, huge hit. you write it -- how prince always said to me, you write it because you want to write it it was at a time in my life where i wanted to write a high romance. i'm a great fan of rogers and hammerstein. basically, let's look at it this way, the plot of joseph in the amazing technicolored dream coat

plus cats did not equal a romantic show. prince pre tony award bash that neither of us would win. how do you do anything about doing a high romance because i found the book called "phantom of the opera" and i want a chandelier to rise from beneath the stage and create an opera house. hal hal used to call me kid, and he said, kid, write the music and i'm in. >> i want to read from "the new york times" in a piece this morning. you highlight some of the current challenges facing broadway writing, quote, it can cost today $5 million to produce a play in a small broadway house. few plays can recoup this even if ticket prices are astronomical i truly don't know the answer to

the ever-counting challenges of producing broadway musicals. but i do know that all of us who believe in broadway must knock our heads together if we care about the kind of future it will have. >> sir andrew, what can be done about this you care so deeply about it, have devoted your life to it as you pointed out, the economic realities are scary and prohibited >> i think i even underestimated them as i was talking to cameron mcintosh last night. the average is breaking eveneven at 800,000 to $900,000 a week, and that doesn't include the creatives, and then they participate in the profits if there are any. it's getting very, very difficult to see how you do new work $5 million to put a play on which might run six, eight months >> wow >> one of the things i wanted to

ask you since it's so important to new york, the economy in new york, wouldn't the business community and others be approached -- the mayor was here and gave you to the key to the city isn't there a way the business community should want to invest in keeping broadway plays alive? >> i agree broadway itself won't die. what will happen is it will become -- i said in this article, the danger is it becomes like one of the storefronts like you have on fifth avenue where you have to have it for your brand i'm using that word advisedly. a lot of people have some writing catalogs and people have been buying up, say, david bowie or whatever. they say, well, how can we exploit this the biggest show in london right now outside -- not necessarily the biggest, but the biggest new show in london is playing in northeast london

it's called "ava the voyage. it's avatars another thing that bothers me at the moment -- not ducking the issue. the chinese top ten this week, three of the songs have wherein written by artificial intelligence i don't know where we go. >> you're depressing me. this is depressing we want it back. we want the phantom back. >> i think if everybody does knock their heads together -- >> you can't replicate this. >> you can't go on making these demands. i think the theater owners need to take a lead on this. >> let me let everyone know you do have "bad cinderella" right now playing on broadway. there's more to this conversation and we're hoping to have you back. sir andrew lloyd webber, thank you so much for coming on the show. >> thank you. that does it for us. ana cabrera picks up the

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